


You Are My Sunshine

by moonlight_1201



Series: Iris Collection [2]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Parents, Angels, Caring Chloe Decker, Domestic Fluff, Established Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar, Everybody loves Trixie Espinoza, F/M, Fade to Black, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) is Bad at Feelings, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Nephilim, Newborn Children, Pre-Season/Series 05, Pre-Season/Series 06, Protective Chloe Decker, Protective Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Smart Trixie Espinoza, Soft Chloe Decker, Soft Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Trixie Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar Bonding, Trixie Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar Fluff, Trixie Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar Friendship, Trixie Espinoza & Mazikeen Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:40:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 51,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28706070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlight_1201/pseuds/moonlight_1201
Summary: Part 2 of the Iris Collection, Lucifer and Chloe bring their daughter, Iris, home. In her first year of life, Lucifer and Chloe will go through a great deal as a couple, including parenting fails and successes. Life is bound to be interesting, dramatic, cute, and terrifying at times when the devil, a miracle sent by God, their Nephilim child, and Trixie Espinoza all live under one roof.This work has been cross-posted on Wattpad
Relationships: Amenadiel & Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Chloe Decker & Dan Espinoza, Chloe Decker & Ella Lopez, Chloe Decker & Linda Martin, Chloe Decker & Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe Decker & Mazikeen, Chloe Decker & Original Female Character(s), Chloe Decker & Trixie Espinoza, Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar, Dan Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar, Dan Espinoza & Trixie Espinoza, Mazikeen & Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Trixie Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar, Trixie Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar & Original Female Character(s), Trixie Espinoza & Mazikeen
Series: Iris Collection [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099817
Comments: 42
Kudos: 131





	1. Welcome Home Iris

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Once again, this is Part 2 of the Iris Collection, so if you haven't read Iris (Part 1) yet, I encourage you to do so. There isn't a real plot to this yet, it's just mostly about Lucifer learning how to be a father, how he grows, especially in his relationship with Chloe, and a beginning to Iris's life.

On the morning of October 31st, Chloe signed all of the discharge papers needed to go home, to take Iris home. 

Dr. Johnson confirmed that Chloe was healing nicely and the on-call pediatrician gave Iris a clean bill of health. 

"Bloody _finally_!" Lucifer exclaimed when the nurse checked the last form needed for check-out. He had been restless to go home since the baby was born. The hospital room was cramped, cold, and smelled funny. Not to mention that he had to change all the diapers because Chloe needed to stay in bed for a few days. She felt bad that he had to do so much of the dirty work - but she had to admit - watching her snobbish playboy partner change dirty baby diapers was _hilarious._

Chloe couldn't wait to be able to move around herself, not only because she hated being confined to a bed, but mostly because she couldn't stand Lucifer's complaining anymore. How many times did she have to explain that, _yes_ , her poop would look like tar for a while as her digestive system adjusts, and _no_ , she's probably not going to stop crying any time soon. 

All in all, he had stepped up more since all that Chloe could do for the last three days was feed and hold Iris. Lucifer did a great job of making sure both of them were taken care of and seemed like he enjoyed skin-to-skin contact with Iris. Secretly, when Chloe watched their daughter sleep on her dad's shirtless chest, Lucifer smiling down at her, his hand just a little bigger than her back, and the pure innocence of it all made Chloe want to have another baby with him. If it wasn't for the fresh memory of hours upon hours of labor, she might have breached the topic with him as soon as her body healed. 

Skin-to-skin with her newborn was the best feeling in the world. Her skin was so soft, and Iris fit like a puzzle piece on Chloe's chest. Chloe loved to snuggle with her especially as Iris napped. Feeling her deep breaths and small heart beat made all of the pain and the fear of an unknown future seem so insignificant. 

Gosh, does she loves her family. Whether He had some sort of hand in this or not, Chloe held a large amount of gratitude toward God for this beautiful family of hers. Really, none of this would be possibly if it wasn't for His...what did Lucifer call it? Meddling? Either way, right now, she couldn't care less because of how much love filled her heart. 

Slowly and carefully, Chloe cleaned herself up and dressed in their tiny bathroom, packing up her things and preparing to go home. 

When she finished, she and Lucifer needed to get Iris dressed before taking her home for the first time. At the moment, the penthouse would be home because all of the baby things were still there due to the angelic threat from over a month ago. They hadn't gotten around to moving back into Chloe's apartment yet. 

"Wakey wakey little girl," Chloe cooed, tickling Iris's belly. She had been napping for the past hour, the consequence of staying up half the night crying and wanting to be held. 

Iris squinted and squirmed in her bundle of pink blankets. They were plush and soft, part of her gift from Auntie Linda. She let out a squeaky newborn noise, protesting being woken, but still opened her eyes. Chloe smiled at them; she would never get over how pretty her daughter's eyes are. Just like she predicted, Iris's eyes had made the transition from blue to brown, just like her sister's had. Iris's eyes weren't as dark as Lucifer's, not yet at least, but they were definitely his. 

"Morning sweetheart. Ready to go home?" Chloe asked as she pulled out Iris's going home outfit from the suitcase. 

As she was doing so, Lucifer came back in the room with the stroller and car seat. "Okay, all unnecessary bags and gifts are in the car, and I've got the child-restraining-devices."

Chloe glared at him out of the corner of her eye. "Please don't call the stroller and car seat that when the nurses do the check."

The last thing they needed after everything they've been through was Iris being taken away by nurses because her dad made a bad joke and thought they were abusers or something horrible like that. 

Lucifer gave a cheeky smile, seemingly pleased that he got a rise out of her. When Iris cooed, his attention diverted to her, and with a small smile, he walked over to her hospital crib, resting his hands gently against the brim. 

"Want to help me get her dressed?" Chloe gently asked, coming up beside him with Iris's outfit. 

Lucifer backed up uncertainly, something he did every time Chloe challenged him with a new aspect of parenthood, but he stayed and just continued watching the baby. 

Placing her hands under Iris's head and rear, she lifted the baby out of the crib. Walking over a few feet, Chloe gently placed Iris on the bed and unwrapped the pink blanket. 

Iris wailed as the cold air hit her delicate skin, but Chloe didn't stop. Lucifer came up beside her, making uncertain sounds. "Ah, detective, she's cold." He pointed out. 

Chloe nodded and replied calmly, more so to Iris than Lucifer. "She's fine. Mommy's going to get her all toasty in her new outfit very soon."

She talked through how to put the romper on. She still had nightmares of Dan's first year of dressing Trixie. The poor baby came downstairs with her dress on upside down once. Chloe gently slipped Iris's small pink limbs through the white arms and legs. After buttoning the snaps below her diaper, Chloe slid the maroon headband with a large bow on it onto Iris's forehead, adjusting it so that the bow rested just above her right temple. Finally, Chloe slipped on a pair of incredibly tiny maroon socks to match.

"Goodness me, who bought her that?" Lucifer chuckled. 

Chloe blushed. "I did. It's sweet!"

The white onesie Iris adorned had gold cursive letters in the middle with two small red hearts. 

_All because two people fell in love_ , it said. 

Lucifer shook his head at the cheesiness of it, but she didn't miss his appreciative smile. 

"Don't worry, Bullet. As soon as we get home, I will teach you all there is to know about fashion. We might have to teach your mother how to properly dress you, too."

Chloe rolled her eyes. 

As soon as Chloe stopped fussing over her, Iris stopped crying and took to looking around the room with her big brown eyes. Chloe sighed and leaned into Lucifer, who caught her and wrapped one arm around her middle, and she in turn slipped hers around him. 

"Let's go home." She breathed with a smile. 

"Let's." Lucifer agreed with a tired sigh. 

***

The small family passed the car seat check and headed home, thankfully without any worrisome jokes from Lucifer. Chloe sat in the backseat of the car with Iris and constantly berated Lucifer to go the speed limit, there's precious cargo back here! Thankfully, he didn't give her much grief about it. 

His uncertainty rose when they pulled into Lux's parking garage and saw many of their friends' vehicles parked up front. 

"I think we have some company," Chloe chuckled. 

"Didn't they all already meet Iris at the hospital? I swear somebody was constantly there!" Lucifer recalled. 

Chloe sighed. He was right, somebody from their group of friends or her mom was constantly in their room during visiting hours, all checking up on Chloe and spending hours with Iris. Which is all to be expected with a new baby, but Chloe did understand Lucifer's frustration and wanting space. 

"They're just trying to be supportive and everyone wants to hang around with babies. Babies are cute." She explained, smiling down at her brand new daughter and the way she would grip Chloe's finger when it brushed her small, chubby hand. 

"I never did!" Lucifer complained, pulling the car into a parking spot, turning off the engine, and opening the door to get out. 

Chloe rolled her eyes and muttered, "Well yeah but you're...you."

She mentally kicked herself, realizing that he heard her, when he poked his head back in with his cheeky grin and replied, "And there is no one quite like me, is there Detective?"

Chloe pursed her lips. Oh the things she could say right now, but she knew better than too. Every time, he found a smart-ass remark to throw back at her. 

He came around to her side first and opened the door to let Chloe out before walking behind the car to open the door Iris's car seat was next to. 

"Okay," He breathed, reaching down for the straps that secured their infant safely in the car. Lucifer glanced up at Chloe and reached back, looking slightly nervous or embarrassed that he had assumed he could take the baby out. 

Chloe stood next to him neutrally. She shrugged and motioned toward the car seat. 

"You can go ahead and take her out," She said calmly, "I'll get the stroller out of the trunk. 

"Detective you shouldn't be lifting while your stitches are healing!" Lucifer retorted as Chloe went to open the trunk. 

Rolling her eyes again, Chloe replied, "Lucifer I can lift a stroller out of a trunk that's at my waist's height."

He let her go for it and turned his attention back to unhooking the car seat from the base. Trying to hook this thing in until he heard the necessary click was torture enough; now he knows why so many Hell loops involve these and breast pumps. This is truly the stuff of nightmares. 

Finally, he was able to remove the car seat, moving gingerly so not to startle Iris, and placed it securely in the stroller. 

Chloe took the handles of the stroller and began to push it toward the elevator while Lucifer grabbed the remaining bags from the trunk and followed behind her. 

When the doors opened in front of them, the penthouse was filled with happy and talkative people. There was a banner hanging from the library railing, with big pink letters, that read: **Welcome Home Iris**. 

The rest of the penthouse was decorated in fun, corny, Halloween decorations. All eyes turned toward the newcomers and they were greeted jubilantly. 

Lucifer looked around uncertainly. The décor wasn't really to his liking, not to mention it was done without his permission. Although, that could be the grumpiness from the last few sleepless nights talking. 

"Mommy!" Trixie ran forward from wherever she had been hiding before and hugged her mom for the first time in days. 

"Hey monkey!" Chloe beamed, glad to see her first baby again. Trixie had come to visit her the day Iris was born, and they had spent a good part of the day together, watching movies, ordering food, and holding Iris, but Chloe was bedridden and Trixie had school the last two days. 

"Missed you," Trixie said. 

"Missed you too," Chloe breathed, rubbing her daughter's back and pressing her nose against her hair. 

Trixie let go soon and, like last time, was quickly enamored by her newborn sister. 

She and Chloe pushed the baby into the living area toward the guests while Lucifer asked, "Ah, what's with all the...display?" He picked up a plastic jack-o-lantern with distaste before setting it back down on the bar. 

"It's Halloween!" A cheerful voice called out from the general vicinity Chloe and the stroller were. 

Of course Miss Lopez would go all-out for such a silly holiday. 

" _I told you_ that you guys would have a Halloween baby!" She teased. 

"Yes but she wasn't actually born on Halloween," Lucifer argued. 

From the back of the couch where she was perched and sipping a drink, Maze chuckled, "Damn, she is going to have some wild birthday parties when she's older. A birthday and Halloween in the same week is very awesome."

That got a few snickers out of the group, but Chloe rolled her eyes and deadpanned, "She's only three days old, let's not talk about her and ragers in the same sentence please."

They spent the next few hours lounging in the penthouse living room, everyone doting over the baby. Every once in a while, Chloe would disappear (sometimes with the baby) so that Iris could eat or Chloe could pump. Lucifer also made her change her first diaper in thirteen years. Chloe didn't mind in the slightest. 

Everyone held Iris again for the first time since the hospital. It seemed that she and Auntie Maze were becoming fast friends, and soon Trixie was talking about getting "girl gang" shirts. 

Chloe and Linda even let Charlie hold his baby cousin for the first time. Charlie, being a restless three year old, had to sit on the couch with Amenadiel next to him. Linda put semi-circular pillow on his lap. Chloe set Iris on the pillow, her head being supported by the pillow and Amenadiel's steady hands close by. 

Charlie smiled and squealed excitedly as he looked at his new cousin, a half-angel just like him (although he didn't know it yet). He started babbling about the cute baby. 

"This is your cousin," Linda explained gently to her son. "Charlie, this is Iris."

"Iwis." Charlie said on his own.

"Yeah good job!" His mother praised, his inability to pronounce his "r's" yet making her chuckle. 

"You're doing a great job holding her Charlie. You're a good big cousin." Chloe added. 

They sat there for a little while until Iris began to get fussy, so Chloe took her away. 

"Why Iwis sad?" Charlie asked, his lips frowning like he had done something wrong. 

Amenadiel took the question while Chloe tried to calm the baby down. "Oh she's probably just tired, son. You did such a good job holding her." Amenadiel's explanation to his son seemed to serve as a hint to everyone else that they had been there for a long time and it was probably time to go. 

Trixie had plans for a sleepover with some of her friends, and maybe a little trick-or-treating. Maze was about to drive her over there. Dan went right behind them, then Ella a few minutes later. Linda and Amenadiel helped them clean up for a bit, and then they too left to get Charlie in his Halloween costume. 

Soon, it was just the small family in the quiet of the penthouse. 

"And then there were three," Lucifer sighed, taking a seat next to Chloe on the couch. 

Chloe leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing and closing her eyes for a moment. "I'm so tired."

Lucifer chuckled, "I believe it. Why don't we try going to bed? I'm sure somebody will be getting us up in a few hours."

Chloe laughed but nodded. They both rose and headed toward the bedroom, Lucifer supporting Chloe as she walked with the baby. 

She gasped as thought of a wonderful idea, "Why don't we show her her room?"

Lucifer scoffed, "Why? She's not sleeping in there yet, and it's not like she'll remember it."

Chloe adjusted Iris and replied, "Yeah but...it's for the sentiment of it. You worked so hard on it for her."

Eventually, Lucifer agreed, and they led their daughter into her own bedroom for the first time. 

"Here we go Iris, this will be your room when you get a little older. Daddy worked really hard on it for you." Chloe explained as she held Iris to the side so that the baby could get a full view of the room, even though Lucifer was pretty sure she was fast asleep. 

The room hadn't changed much in the last few months. Chloe had moved all of the toys and clothes she received from her baby shower in there, and added a picture frame with Iris's last ultrasound picture in it. She wants to put one of her newborn pictures in there soon. 

Lucifer pointed to the pink wall above the white crib and said, "I think I want to order one of those wall stickers and put her name there."

"Sounds good," Chloe replied, moving over to the changing table and setting Iris on it. 

Together, they changed her diaper one more time and picked out a sack-looking outfit that Chloe assured Lucifer was good for the baby to sleep in to keep her warm at night. 

"She looks like a potato."

"Oh stop."

Soon enough, they were both in more comfortable attire, cleaned up, and ready to put Iris down for the night. 

"I know it's early, but I'm ready to _crash_." Chloe whined. It was only eight o'clock, but after the long day, she was ready for sleep. 

Lucifer wrapped her gently in his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Then get some sleep love. I'm not that tired yet, so I'll stay up for a while longer."

Chloe looked up at him. "If she's hungry just-"

He interrupted her, gently but firmly saying, "I'll take care of it."

Eventually, Chloe gave in to her exhaustion and she climbed into the silk sheets, snuggling under the warm thick covers (which were so much more comfortable than the scratchy hospital sheets), and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She faced the bassinet as her breaths evened out, almost in sync with the baby's.

Lucifer poured himself his first drink in days, savoring the woody burning sensation on his tongue. He sat at his piano to play something that would calm him down. Things were different now, though. He was sharing his home with two women who desperately needed their sleep. He would have to sacrifice and compromise now more than he ever has before. He was coming to realize, however, that he didn't seem to mind it very much, not when it came to Chloe and Iris. 

As he sipped on his drink, Lucifer found himself no longer glancing at the pristine white keys, but across the room at the same bassinet the sleeping detective was facing. Iris was asleep on her back but her head was turned toward her mother. Her chest was falling in steady, even rhythms. 

He felt a horridly familiar aching rise in his chest and something burn at his eyes, not fire, but something else. There was a hint of despair but also...gratefulness? Part of him still couldn't believe that he was allowed to have Iris for a whole three days now. He feared demons coming after her like they had Charlie. His blood boiled with rage as he recalled what he did to those demons for disobeying him and kidnapping Charlie. It would be one hundred times worse if they dared come after his daughter. 

Then there was the most recent threat he faced. If he had lost to Remiel...he couldn't even fathom it. Lucifer didn't doubt for a second two months ago when he fought Remmy that he would lose, but now that he's met Iris, held her, fallen in love with her...Lucifer was sickened by the notion that she had come very close to being ripped from him and the detective. She's so innocent, so pure and tiny! How could any of his siblings think her evil? 

It had taken the detective months to earn as big a place in his heart as she had, but Iris...Iris was Lucifer's entire heart, and he intended on savoring every moment with this precious baby girl as he was allowed. 


	2. How Lucifer Morningstar Became An Anti-Vaxxer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At Iris's first doctor's appointment since being allowed to leave the hospital, Lucifer and Chloe have some miscommunication issues during the appointment, and Lucifer does not like this whole vaccination-thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is in no way a dig or offense of any kind if you do not believe in vaccinating children. It is wholly meant to be humorous and has mostly to do with that Protective Lucifer Morningstar tag.

On November second, five days after Iris's birth, Chloe and Lucifer rushed to leave the penthouse that morning. They threw anything they thought they might need in the diaper bag, made sure the new baby was ready to leave the house, and just barely had any time to get themselves ready. 

Chloe didn't care how she looked at the doctor's office, but Lucifer was a different story. 

"You expect me to go out in public looking like I've spent the last five days taking care of offspring? No! Detective, the whole point of keeping up appearances is to maintain your reputation and convince others that you have a handle on your life."

Chloe just rolled her eyes. She was ready to go with Iris in the car seat and the bag packed, but her boyfriend insisted on going through his whole grooming routine, which they definitely did not have time for if they were going to drive safely to the doctor's. 

Chloe couldn't believe that it's already been five days with Iris. The days seemed to blend together lately, so at times it feels like it's been longer than five days, and she found it hard to believe that she had given birth not even a week ago. 

They did make it to the doctor's office right on time, thankfully. Chloe volunteered to do all the paperwork (because she knew Lucifer wouldn't get any of it done even if she asked him to), so Lucifer kept on eye on the baby while they waited for the nurse to call them. 

Chloe had to brush a few annoying strands of hair out of her face while she focused on the paperwork. Her hair was pulled back into a low half-ponytail, but the way her hair is layered causes the two front-most pieces to be shorter than the rest and they never stay in the ponytail. 

"Will she ever do anything other than sleep?" Lucifer asked suddenly.

Chloe glanced over at the stroller that stood just next to Lucifer's waiting room chair. Iris was sound asleep. The outfit Chloe had picked out for her today was a heather gray long-sleeve onesie, rose pink leggings, gray socks, and a matching rose hat to keep her head warm. The blanket that had been a gift from Linda was draped over her. 

Chloe smirked and replied, "This is good. We want this."

Lucifer nodded, seemingly taking mental notes. 

Chloe teased him even more, saying, "Before you know it, she'll be just as energetic as Trixie."

Lucifer's eyes widened fearfully. He leaned over the stroller and whispered, "Sleep as long as you like, child. Energy is overrated, I promise."

A few moments later, a cheery, young, male nurse came into the waiting room, looked at his checklist and called out, "Iris? Iris...Morningstar?"

The smile never left the nurse's face, it only widened, as Chloe waved to him and she and Lucifer left their chairs with the baby to join him. 

"Good morning," The nurse greeted them. Chloe and Lucifer returned the greeting as they followed the young man toward the patient rooms. "You guys will be in room three today," He stated as he gestured toward the second door on the left side. 

Lucifer opened the door and let Chloe and the stroller in first before joining them in the very small and colorful room. 

"Okay, while you guys are waiting, we'll need you to undress your baby so we can do the exam. I'll step out, and I should be back in shortly. Is there anything you need in the meantime?"

Both Chloe and Lucifer shook their heads and answered no, and with the same cheery smile, the nurse let them be. 

"I'm almost done with the paperwork," Chloe said, "can you take her clothes off while I finish this?"

"Okay," Lucifer replied as Chloe sat in one of the green plastic chairs against the wall to finish the paperwork. 

Lucifer gently removed Iris's hat, socks, leggings, and onesie, neatly folding them and setting them in the basket in the bottom of the stroller. Once the baby was stripped down to her diaper, Lucifer brought her cozy blanket up higher on her chest to cover the baby up and keep her warm. 

He looked around the room and grimaced as he stood over Iris. 

"Whoever designs patient rooms needs to be fired. Sticking gaudy stickers on the wall is not interior design." Lucifer scoffed. 

Chloe glanced up. The beige walls were covered in Mickey Mouse characters. 

"It's for the kids," She said flatly as she returned to her paperwork, "so they feel more comfortable."

There was a knocking on the door and a moment later, the smiling male nurse reentered. 

"Okie dokie," He said cheerily as he made his way over to the counter to log in to a computer. "Thanks for getting her undressed. I'm just going to take some stats before Doctor comes in. Mom? Dad? How do you feel she's doing."

Lucifer looked at Chloe, his eyes wider than normal, like he wasn't sure what he should say here. 

Chloe hesitated and then began, "So far, everything seems to be normal. She's eating, going to the bathroom...sleeps a lot during the day, which doesn't help _us_ ," She laughed as she said that last part and the nurse laughed too, taking notes on the computer. 

"That's to be expected. Getting babies on the normal sleep schedule is hard work, especially cause they need so much sleep."

"Lucifer?" Chloe asked. "How do you think she's doing?"

The nurse turned his head to look at Lucifer, patiently awaiting his answer. 

Encouraging him, Chloe gently said, "Just be honest, it's okay."

"Ah, well," Lucifer hesitated. If the detective said he should just be honest, well, he's good at that!

"I only know what is typical of human offspring from the parenting books and articles I read. So far, it seems as if our spawn follows those guidelines very well. There are no signs of wings or extra appendages yet...it seems that all she is capable of doing is crying, sleeping, eating, and producing excrement. Is that normal?"

Chloe smacked her forehead. 

The nurse laughed uneasily, like he was doing his best to remain professional, but he wasn't sure if Lucifer was joking or not.

Lucifer expectantly awaited the nurse's answer. 

"Yes," The nurse said slowly, "for being five days old, all that is normal and what we want to see. Is she eating well? Does her excrement seem normal?"

Chloe answered the questions this time and replied yes to both. 

"And how are you two doing? With the parenting change and everything? We want to make sure both of you are taking care of yourselves too."

Before Chloe could answer, Lucifer spoke up. 

"Well, that's very kind of you to ask. Health wise, I think we feel fine, just a tad sleep-deprived. This little one, however, is quite an attention stealer, and we haven't been able to have sex in weeks, but other than that, I think we're doing alright."

To Chloe's horror, the nurse typed all of that in. 

"Well, it is important to make sure that parents leave time for themselves too," The nurse replied. "I understand that it can be a difficult adjustment, but your health and wellbeing matters just as much as your baby's. Chloe, how are you doing? I see from your chart that you're breast feeding. Any complications with that that you'd like to speak to the doctor about?"

Chloe shook her head, a bit relieved that the nurse wasn't taken aback by Lucifer's bluntness and willingness to overshare. 

"Uh, no, I don't think there are any concerns. It kinda sucks getting back into it, but I remember a lot of the tips and tricks from my first time breast feeding, so yeah, I think I'm okay."

The nurse typed that in too, still smiling, and said, "Okay, now I'm going to update baby's stats,"

He washed his hands in the sink, then went over to the stroller, and he lifted Iris out. 

"Oh my goodness, look at you!" He cooed as he brought her over to the newborn scale. "You're so yummy, I could just eat you up, yes I could. I bet you'll be quite the heart throb when you grow up. Good thing my boyfriend isn't here, or he'd be very jealous of you."

Chloe and Lucifer laughed, both relieved that so far, Iris seemed to be behaving and not fussy.

Iris's weight at birth had been eight pounds and two ounces. When they were discharged from the hospital two days ago, she had been seven pounds and six ounces after adjusting to Chloe's milk. Now, she is seven pounds and eight ounces. The nurse seemed to like that; it means she is eating well and growing normally. Her blood pressure was very good and her oxygen level is one hundred percent. Finally, the nurse checked for jaundice, and she found that her levels were completely normal, so that made for a very happy nurse, and two proud parents.

The nurse left shortly after. Iris seemed to be getting increasingly fussier, and Chloe's boobs began to twinge, so she decided to feed Iris. Lucifer burped her when she had finished. They stayed in the room for a few minutes longer until the pediatric doctor came in to finished the tests. 

Iris finished with a clean bill of health, but there was one last thing that needed to be done before they got to go home. 

"She's going to need her measles and rubella vaccinations today," The doctor said as she pulled vials out of the cabinet. "There are others she's going to need, but we can settle with those two today."

Chloe and Lucifer stood behind the table Iris was laying on. The baby was wide awake while the doctor snapped on a pair of latex gloves and filled two separate needles with two different liquids. Chloe held on to Iris's shoulders and cooed soft, gentle words to her about being brave. The doctor picked a place on Iris's chubby upper thigh, swabbed it with an alcohol wipe, and then stuck the needle in Iris's leg, pressing down on the plunger. 

As soon as the needle pierced her skin, Iris let out a blood-curdling wail. The doctor didn't seem phased at all by the screaming and crying. Chloe flinched but overall seemed cool and controlled. 

Lucifer, on the other hand...

"What the bloody hell did you do?" He growled, rounding on the doctor as she took the measles vaccination out of Iris's leg and prepared a band-aid for her. 

"It's okay-" The doctor began, but Lucifer cut her off, his tone low and dangerous. 

" _No_. No it is very much not okay! Look at what you've done to her!" He gestured at Iris, but he was very clearly seething now, his teeth clenched together as he spoke. 

"Lucifer," Chloe tried to calmly get his attention so that the doctor could give Iris her second shot. 

"SHE IS IN PAIN! YOU HURT MY DAUGHTER!" Lucifer's voice raised to a yell, and the doctor shrunk back in fear as his eyes flashed bright red and flames began to lick at his skin. 

" _Lucifer!_ " Chloe raised her voice now, taking him by the arms and pulling him back. He stopped at Chloe's touch and turned to face her, the flames and redness disappearing. Iris's wailing was now the only sound in the room. 

"Lucifer," Chloe's voice returned to calm, cool, and collected. "Iris needs this medicine." Chloe tried to explain. 

"And stabbing her is the only way to give it to her?" He argued. 

Chloe deadpanned. She didn't like his wording, but basically, that is how it's done. "Yes. The injection goes right into her bloodstream to help her immune system fight future viruses and infections."

Lucifer shook his head, still seething, "No, then I refuse! No more vaccinations for her. It's our right to choose her medical treatment, is it not? Then I say no. If this causes her pain, no."

Chloe was finding it much harder to control her temper now. 

"Yes, she is getting her shots. The process stings a bit, but this is what will keep her and other children healthy. She is getting all of her vaccinations. Shots sting for two seconds and then it goes away! She will get used to it when she gets older!"

As she spoke, Iris began calming down into a quieter cry and whimpering. 

Chloe put her foot down on the decision, and Lucifer backed off, but he didn't seem the least bit thrilled about it. Chloe calmly and politely turned back toward the doctor, who was quivering near the counter with the vials. 

"I am so sorry for his outburst. Please, doctor, go ahead and do whatever you need to do."

The doctor's eyes were wide with terror as she looked at Lucifer. 

"I...I thought I...I thought I saw," She said shakily. 

Chloe scrunched her eyebrows together, shook her head, and asked, "Saw what?"

She felt bad for lying, especially after Lucifer scoffed, but she needed her daughter to get the necessary medicine. 

Hesitantly, the doctor filled up the next needle with the rubella vaccination. She timidly came back over to put the needle in Iris's other thigh, but seemed for a moment as if she was thinking against it. 

"It's okay," Chloe said calmly, putting her body between Lucifer's and the doctor as she held onto Iris. Chloe coached the doctor through the whole shot. Iris screamed again, but thankfully, Lucifer didn't go full devil on the doctor a second time. 

The doctor bandaged Iris up, made her final notes, and then practically ran out of the room. 

Chloe got Iris redressed and then she and Lucifer went back to the front desk in the waiting room to have their paperwork filed. 

Chloe praised her daughter for being so good for the nurse and doctor, but in her head, she was planning a very intense scolding for Lucifer when they got home. 


	3. Dad In Charge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Chloe are definitely struggling with the challenge of raising a newborn, and having a teenager living with them half of the time on top of that. Neither of them can leave the penthouse without the entire routine decimating. When Chloe gets urgently called into work, however, she needs Lucifer to stay alone with Iris for the afternoon.   
> This ought to be interesting...  
> Later, an old friend stops in to check on the new dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: I originally wrote this before season 5 aired, so very little of that season's storylines are already in this story. I will slowly be incorporating those. For example, Lucifer is still vulnerable around Chloe and neither of them really know why.

A month after Iris was brought home, the family still took up residency in the penthouse. There was no threat they were hiding from nor any other reason for them to still be living there. Chloe fully intended on both of her daughters moving back into the apartment. However, living with an infant and being constantly sleep-deprived made it hard to remember needing to move, much less actually moving. 

Maze continued living in and checking on the apartment whenever she wasn't off chasing bounties. She had tried to guilt-trip Chloe and Lucifer into thinking it was their fault that she had missed so many jobs over the past few months, but they had a feeling that, deep down, Maze wanted to be around when Iris came. She liked to "check in" on them a lot too, but seemed pretty fascinated by the baby whenever she did.

Right now the penthouse was a complete disaster. Lucifer tried to keep picking things up and cleaning as best as he could, but Iris _wouldn't stop crying_. Constantly, he and Chloe would be taking turns holding her; any attempts in talking over the wails about what she could possibly want were stymied by more crying. Burp cloths, onesies, and even adult clothes ended up strewn across the floor. They couldn't find the time or opportunity to do anything with them. 

After about two weeks of this, Lucifer figured out that Iris still enjoyed hearing the piano. He and Chloe discovered this one day during her pregnancy; Iris kicked while Lucifer played and stopped as soon as he stopped. This he didn't mind. If his playing was one of the only things that would calm her down, he would play for hours if that's what it took. 

Chloe was about five weeks into her six week paid maternity leave. Thankfully, she got one week of paid leave for pregnancy disability while she waited for Iris to come out which didn't count toward her maternity leave. She had her own issues about the term "pregnancy disability" and her department only allowing new mothers six weeks maternity leave, but that was besides the point right now. While she did enjoy spending all this time bonding with her daughter, she was getting a little restless in the penthouse. So when the lieutenant called and asked her to come into work one day, Chloe argued a little bit, but still agreed to come in.

"What the bloody hell is so urgent?" Lucifer complained, "You've just had a baby and you're breast feeding! They can't leave you alone for one more week?"

Chloe sighed as she looked through the closet for clothes that might fit her. 

"Apparently there was some mixed up paperwork from the Greenhouse Case we were on that they need me to verify."

The Greenhouse Case, as gruesome as it was, actually held special meaning to Chloe; it was while she and Lucifer were undercover for that case that she found inspiration for Iris's name by being shown a bed of irises. Thankfully, the store owner who showed them to her wasn't the killer. In fact, it ended up being the emo teenage clerk; like they had predicted, the murder was drug related. The teenager was selling drugs out of the greenhouse and the victim hadn't paid on time, leading to his (accidental) death. 

Lucifer scoffed, his face encroaching with worried wrinkles Chloe had never seen before. He was burping Iris after her last feeding, the baby leaning against his right shoulder.

"Then I'll call them and convince them to leave you alone or we can go in together."

He followed her like a lost puppy to the bathroom where Chloe wanted to change and put some makeup on in privacy. It would be her first time out in public in a month, so she wanted to dress herself up at least a little bit. 

"It's not a big deal, Lucifer." Chloe called through the door. "I'll only be gone for a few hours at the most. And, actually, you're not on paternity leave from the L.A.P.D. because they don't pay you. You just stopped showing up because I stopped showing up. C'mon, you're her dad, you can be in charge for a couple hours."

He retorted, "A brand new dad who cannot feed her by himself nor have her tearing up my penthouse more than she already has! And while you're correct, Detective, I am on _Lux's_ paternity leave and we don't follow the six week rule. I told my staff that if they produced any offspring to take as much time as they needed with them. I had no bloody clue back then how much time urchin rearing took!"

Chloe rolled her eyes, "My spare breast milk is in the freezer. All you have to do it warm it up, like I showed you, and feed it to her from one of the bottles in the cabinet."

She heard Lucifer grumble because he knew she was right, he was just being dramatic, as always. Then Chloe chuckled to herself, thinking of an argument that would deliver the final blow. It was a little low, even for her, but she knew it would let her leave the penthouse for a few hours. 

"So, you're telling me that Lucifer Morningstar, the devil himself, former ruler of Hell, and owner of the most prestigious nightclub in L.A. can't hangout out with a one-month old for a few hours?" She tisked through her smile as she awaited his response through the door. 

There was silence for a moment, long enough to make Chloe wonder if he had walked away and hadn't even heard her awesome come-back. 

Then Lucifer's gravelly yet still whiny voice drafted through the door. "Fine. You know what Detective? Take as much time as you'd like! After you finished your paperwork, socialize! Go out for lunch with Miss Lopez, solve a murder or two while you're there. Do whatever you bloody like! I can handle a day with my offspring." He sarcastically shot back.

Chloe opened the door with a smile, seeing him mid-rant with his left index finger in the air like he had been lecturing her. She was now fully dressed and ready to leave.

"That's great, babe! I'll let you know when I'm on my way home." As she walked past him, she leaned up on her tippy-toes to give him a small peck on the cheek. 

His expression was adorably dumbfounded. Even Iris (who had learned how to hold her own head up a few weeks ago) looked up at Chloe as she walked by, one eyebrow cocked as if to say, "Mom, what did you just do?"

Chloe heard Lucifer mutter behind her, "Bullocks."

Lucifer followed Chloe at a distance while she gathered a few things before heading out. Just before she did, she called out over her shoulder a few reminders for him.

"If something happens and you can't get a hold of me, you should probably call Amenadiel because everyone else I can think of is working right now. Also, if she gets too fussy you can either put her in the swing or play the piano or both. If she spits up on her outfit, throw that one in the wash and change her-"

"Detective, I'm not a complete imbecile!" Lucifer argued. 

Chloe turned around. She now had everything she needed to go into work for a few hours. So why did she suddenly want to drop everything, tell her lieutenant to go screw himself and stay home with her baby?

She knew she couldn't do that though. With a whimper, she took Iris out of Lucifer's arms and held her close, giving her many small kisses and saying, "Mommy loves you so much. I'll be back soon. Be good for Daddy, okay?"

Lucifer took her back, smirking at how Chloe seemed to be regretting her decision now. "I assure you Detective, spend as much time as you want at work. I've got it all handled here."

Chloe caught his shit-eating grin and threw one of her own back at him. 

"Sounds like a deal," She smirked, turning her back on his falling smile. She only turned around again as she entered the elevator, catching how scared he looked. Iris started crying while the doors closed in between them. 

***

"Why did I say _that_? I'm such a bloody idiot. Stupid! Brilliant idea, Lucifer, just brilliant!" Lucifer muttered to himself as he paced around the room with a still-wailing Iris. She seemed to dislike the idea of the detective leaving them alone for the day just as much, if not more, than he did. 

"Here," Lucifer said, setting Iris in her swing, buckling her in, and turning it on. It was an interesting little contraption, courtesy of the detective's wonderful mother. All you do is strap the child in, press a button, and this seat rocks them side to side, and it does wonders soothing newborn spawn!

"Sit there until you calm down," He ordered while he stood up, showing her the palm of his hand like he was asking a dog to stay. 

He tore his fingers through his already mussed hair and walked over to the bar. He made sure to keep an eye on Little Bullet while he poured himself a drink. Lucifer hesitated as he reached for his favorite bourbon. He could just faintly hear the detective scolding him for drinking while he was in charge of the baby. He put the bourbon back on the shelf. 

Although, the detective wasn't here right now, meaning that he was once again invulnerable and therefore couldn't get drunk. 

Lucifer picked the bourbon back up with a cheerful grin and poured himself a hearty glass. 

"I'd offer you one," He said in Iris's direction. Finally she had stopped wailing and had taken to whimpering now. 

"But you throw up after milk, I'd hate to see what bourbon would do to you." Obviously, he knew that the law in the United States states that humans under the age of twenty-one were prohibited from drinking alcohol (stupid bloody rule), and that giving alcohol to still-developing infants was highly dangerous, but Lucifer didn't know how to talk to children, much less babies, or what to talk to them about. All of his friends spoke to Iris with annoying high-pitched voices and repeated everything they said, smiling like fools. Why did infants and children need to be spoken to differently? They're just small humans, and Iris is only half human! Surely her supernatural side puts her at an advantage developmentally and therefore there is no need for baby-talk? 

Now that he thought about it, she hadn't shown any evidence that she possesses any supernatural genetics yet. Neither has Charlie as a matter of fact...

Iris was beginning to get fussy again,. Her round, little, pink face was scrunching up and her toothless mouth opened and let out an ear-piercing cry. 

"Bloody hell what now?" Lucifer whined, leaving the bar and eyeing his piano. 

"Do you want music too? Here," He set his drink on top of the piano and began to play a slow, peaceful melody. 

After a few bars, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Iris completely asleep. He breathed a sigh of relief, letting his hands work on autopilot while he admired her sleeping form. She really was the cutest while she was sleeping. Another benefit of her sleeping was that she couldn't give him a headache with her howling.

She had brought her arms to right angles so that her fists rested on either side of her face. Her face was turned to her left and her mouth hung open slightly, reminding Lucifer of a baby bird. 

When Lucifer looked away, he fully noticed the complete state of disarray his penthouse had been subjected to. Now that Iris was asleep, maybe he could tidy up a bit? Show the detective that he _could_ be left in charge for a few hours?

He stopped playing and quietly walked over to his stereo. Plugging his phone into the aux, he selected a classical playlist and let it draft through the overhead speakers quietly. Perhaps Iris was more likely to stay asleep if she thought he was still playing. 

He immediately set to work picking up dirty baby clothes and burp cloths. He would have to take them downstairs to the washing machine Lux washed the bar cloths in. There was no washer or dryer up here because he got all of his suits dry cleaned and didn't have a use for such appliances. 

Speaking of which - he thought, glancing toward his closet longingly - he had purposely not worn any of his suits after being on permanent daddy-duty as of late. He learned that lesson the hard way at the hospital after Iris was born. He had forgotten to take a burp cloth and Iris spit up all over his favorite Armani. Thankfully, Li (his fantastic cleaner) was able to work his magic on the suit so that there was no sign of the causality. Since returning home, Lucifer had only changed into his silk pajamas or sweat pants, choosing to not even bother with his dress shirts and temporarily replace them with old t-shirts he fished out of the back of the closet. He knew that he just didn't look right in the cotton travesties, but he didn't care if they perished for the cause of raising his daughter. 

Lucifer breathed a sigh of relief an hour later. His plan worked; Iris continued to sleep soundly in her swing. Her eyelids twitched like she was dreaming. He had succeeded in cleaning up the main room and his bedroom, even getting to disinfect some surfaces and dust. His penthouse looked much better after a little TLC. There was a mesh bag filled with dirty clothes to take downstairs, either whenever Iris woke up or the detective returned. Could he possibly take it down now if he took the baby monitor with him?

He had turned to head toward the nursery where the still-to-be-used baby monitors were set up on the nightstand. He stopped when he heard a faint whimper. 

Lucifer popped out of the hallway and padded back into the living room. Iris still seemed to be asleep, but she was definitely whimpering, which turned more into cries of distress. 

"Bullet?" Lucifer asked as he strode back over to her, concern pushing aside any other chore-related thoughts. 

She didn't open her eyes, but opened her mouth slightly as cries escaped. As Lucifer leaned down, he noticed that her fists had clenched more (or as much as infants could clench their fists) and her eyes still twitched underneath her eyelids. 

"Spawn? Wake up darling." He said worriedly, stroking the side of Iris's face.

She stirred, jumping a little as her eyes relaxed and she gave a deep exhale. 

Lucifer smiled as she calmed, but that quickly faded when her dark eyes opened and she screamed. 

"Oh, bloody-" Lucifer muttered as he unbuckled Iris from the swing and picked her up. As she continued to cry, Lucifer stopped his muttering when Iris nuzzled herself into his chest, turning her head so that it seemed to Lucifer as if she was looking for solace or protection. He sighed and adjusted her so that she was being held vertically, her head against his shoulder. Lucifer supported her rear with his right hand and held her head with his left, tracing soothing patterns with his thumb. 

"Bad dream?" He asked. He hushed her, just standing in place and holding her until she calmed down. "You're safe Little Bullet. I've got you."

Iris's cries turned into soft coos, and Lucifer breathed a sigh of relief, mentally patting himself on the back for being able to calm her down himself. When she lifted her head off his shoulder, he turned his head as best he could to look at her. 

"You're father is the devil, what could you possibly be afraid of?" He said proudly with a smile. Could this child even fathom how protected and loved she was? 

She spent the next few minutes catching her breath. Lucifer didn't mind holding her as she did so, but soon enough she began crying again. Lucifer felt that he knew exactly what she wanted this time; it had been a while since she had eaten last. 

He brought her over to the kitchen, where the detective's breast milk sat on shelves in bags. Iris continued whimpering, and Lucifer moved as fast he could preparing the milk with one hand. 

When the bottle had finished warming, he tested the temperature against his wrist, and judging that it was an adequate temperature, he sat at the breakfast bar with Iris, tilting her back, and putting the bottle in her mouth like the detective showed him how to do. 

Iris fussed as she ate. She really did not like taking from the bottle, but Lucifer tried to explain to her that mum wasn't here and she couldn't have the boob. 

"Believe me, spawn, I know how wonderful boobs are, but Mum isn't here. I don't have breasts to offer you, but I can still feed you if only you stop being so stubborn."

Iris furrowed her eyebrows at him, but continued sporadically sucking. It was important to Lucifer that Iris knew, at every stage of her life, that her father was there for her, ready to provide whatever she needed. Eventually, Iris did eat, but she did not go easily. She seemed to suck more when he spoke to her. Not a problem; Lucifer liked talking. 

"See, this is one area I'm an expert in. Even though you're a small one, your father is an expert in entertaining women. I've heard rumor that it's the 'accent' that attracts humans in this part of the world. Girls just swoon, it's pretty hilarious to be honest. Yep, I might be the only male on the planet who can figure out exactly what women want,"

Lucifer smirked, continuing to watch his success in getting Iris to eat. Oh just wait until he tells the detective this! She's going to be so jealous.

"Surprisingly, you don't seem to be too different. Often, I find that women very much desire food. Must be from trying so hard to fit into society's standards. You need not worry about that, child. You are beautiful as you are."

When Iris finished, Lucifer lifted her up so that he could burp her after he set the bottle in the sink. 

_Blech_

Lucifer winced through his teeth and moved to hold Iris at arms' length in front of him. He glanced at her once white now yellow onesie, then his gaze drifted down to his own white t-shirt, which had a nice big spit-up stain down the front. 

"Oh are you fu- _Seriously_?" Lucifer grumbled. Curse himself for once again forgetting the cursed burp cloth. 

He moved Iris in his arms so that he could better support her head but she was still a safe distance from him. Quickly, he walked into the nursery and placed her on the changing table. 

Once he unbuttoned and removed the baby's ruined clothes, he stripped off his own ruined shirt. Skin was much easier to clean that clothes anyway, so if Iris spit up again, he would have an easier time cleaning them both up. Lucifer grabbed the shirt and the onesie, sprinting back into the main room to add them to the laundry pile and then sprinting back to the nursery. 

Iris just stared at him, once again raising one eyebrow at him. 

"Oh you find this amusing do you?" Lucifer sarcastically asked as he wiped the spit up from his daughter's chin. 

Iris continued to stare up at him. 

Lucifer put his hands on his hips and looked at her closet filled with spare outfits. 

"You know what? To Hell with clothes. All you do is ruin them. You'll be fine without them for one day. There's nothing wrong with your birthday suit."

He did, however, put on a clean diaper for good measure. Good thing too, because this eating machine had soiled her sixth nappy of the day, and he was sure more were to come. 

Lucifer finished burping her with a burp cloth this time. Now that Iris was wide awake, he wasn't quite sure what to do with her. Maybe she would let him lay down for a while?

Lucifer carried her back to his bedroom (now that it seemed like she wasn't going to be sick anymore) and sat against the headboard of his bed with her. He sat straight up, bringing his heels closer to his rear so that his knees were perpendicular with the ceiling. He set Iris against his thighs, where she sat comfortably, just staring at him with her large dark eyes. 

"You really don't do much do you?"

Iris blinked. 

"You know, besides eat, sleep, and poop?" He asked seriously.

Iris blinked again. 

"Although, I suppose this is the easiest you'll ever be. You can't talk back yet or rebel, and being my child, I'm sure you'll definitely give me and your mother a hard time come your adolescent years." He gave her a half smile. "That doesn't matter though. Honestly, I can't see myself ever loving you any less, and that's truly terrifying when I think about it. Although, I suppose that means nobody will ever love you more than me. Not even any boys...or girls, who come around asking for your hand."

His seriousness was replaced by light humor by the end of his sentence. All of his words reined true though and they felt good to express. He hadn't been to therapy for a while. Linda would stop by to check on him every once in a while, but they couldn't get a decent session in with Iris constantly needing either him or the detective. 

"Yes," He chuckled, "All of those cretins you might find attractive are going to have a hard time getting through your father, eh?" He flashed her a toothy grin and poked her round milk belly. 

Then something incredible happened, something the detective had always dismissed as gas, but Lucifer had a feeling that this was the real thing. 

Iris smiled at him.

It was small and gummy, but the light of it reached her eyes, and she directed it up and him. 

"Are...are you smiling at me?" Lucifer chuckled. "Is my being the devil funny to you?"

Iris just continued smiling and Lucifer laughed with her, finding her tiny toes with his fingers and tickled them. 

"Gosh I love you so much. I think we'd make great friends, you know, when you grow into an actual person." Lucifer stated. 

Iris just kept looking at him, but a few seconds later, her smile faded and was traded for a big yawn. Her eyes closed and when she finished, and she licked her lips with the tiny end of her tongue. 

"Sleepy again, huh?" Lucifer placed a fist in front of his mouth, seeming to have caught her contagious yawn and feeling rather like a nap himself. 

Her eyelids were drooping, and Lucifer wondered if she had to go into her bassinet to nap. They were having such a nice bonding moment, and Lucifer didn't want it to end. He didn't get the opportunity to bond with her quite like the detective did.

Instead of putting her down, he placed Iris on his chest and gently moved himself lower on the bed so that he was laying facing upward. He held Iris like he had at the hospital when they did skin-to-skin contact. There was something special about those moments that he couldn't quite explain. He loved holding her so close, feeling her breath against his chest and her small heart beat thumping against his own. 

He smiled as he felt these sensations once again. Iris snuggled up so that her head rested on one of his pectorals. He had seen her do this to the detective a few times when the two of them were watching TV on the couch, using her mother as a pillow of sorts. 

"Sorry I don't have as comfortable pillows as your mother. She seems to like sleeping on me just fine though." He joked. 

Iris took a deep breath, and then a long exhale. Lucifer craned his neck so that he could admire her sleeping form, so comfortable on his chest. He stroked her dark fine hair, slowly moving one hand to her back so that she wouldn't roll off or get too cold. He placed his other elbow behind his head, leaned back, and closed his eyes

It didn't him long to fall asleep himself. 

***

It had been a few years since Azrael had last visited Los Angeles. She had wanted to check in even more since her last visit just to make sure Ella was still okay and possibly get in touch with her big brother again. 

Heaven had been buzzing much more than normal in the last few years. The first time it was because of Amenadiel conceiving a son. That was a scandal in itself. The prayer-line might as well have exploded though when Remmy announced that Lucifer had impregnated a human. Father remained silent, however. To make a long story short (or at least what Azrael had heard about it), Remmy ended up coming home with her metaphorical tail between her legs, telling their older siblings that Lucifer, Amenadiel, and the demon Mazikeen were all protecting this child, even though the angels still believed that it posed a dangerous threat to the world. 

Azrael was never one to rashly make judgement about people, just based on the common consensus. Mostly, she stays away from the gossip because she hates it when people do it about her, being Death and all, or from her siblings always considering her a weirdo.

Over the last few years, she's wondered what Ella would say about half-angel babies popping up in Los Angeles and wanting to be their aunt. She might have asked her closest friend too, if she hadn't been such a coward last time and just told Ella that she was actually an angel and not a ghost. At this point, she wasn't sure if she or Lu should be the first one to tell Ella. It seemed sticky either way.

In her imaginative conversations with Ella, Rae-Rae always came to the conclusion that these children were her biological nephew and niece and she would be missing out if she never met them.

That's how Azrael found herself flying toward her favorite brother's penthouse for the first time in years. Her heart beat rapidly thinking about how he was no longer a care-free bachelor, but a man with a serious relationship and a baby! Rae-Rae wanted to squeal with excitement. She didn't get to spend a lot of time around babies (being the angel of death), but she loved seeing them when she could. They were just so small and squishy and adorable!

Rae-Rae made herself invisible as she entered the quiet penthouse. She had a sneaking suspicion (after the stunt Remmy pulled) that he wouldn't be all that welcoming to angels at the moment, so invisibility seemed like a good way to go. She didn't have to search long for her brother, as she found him passed out and shirtless in his large bed. 

On the rare occasions when Azrael checked in on him, he would often be sleeping in the arms of any number of humans, mostly in their twenties or thirties. Each time, he seemed to be in complete intoxicated bliss, but Azrael also saw something akin to loneliness in her brother's features. She never lingered for long though, always feeling like she was intruding. Loneliness was not a stranger to an angel who constantly dealt with dead humans, but she couldn't even fathom how it was affecting this specific sibling, given where he had been sent for eons. 

Today, however, Lucifer was in bed with another person, but only one, and she wasn't even an adult like normal. He was asleep with a baby snuggled on his bare chest. She rose and fell with each of his breaths, each completely relaxed and calm in each other's arms. The baby had her arms resting on Lucifer in a way that reminded Azrael of a hug. Rae-Rae smiled at the pureness of it all. Instead of a forced ecstasy and the shadows of desolation on Lucifer's face, there was a softness to him and a peaceful small smile. 

It was a nice change in scenery, and from what she could see, her niece is extremely adorable. She deserved a fair chance at life. Nothing had gone wrong yet because of her! She only has a few people standing in her corner, so she would have to be strong. Her family seemed like they would be able to help her with that challenge. Rae-Rae knew that she didn't count as this baby's family because of how distant she and Lu are, but who knows? Miracles happen every day. Maybe one day, she could formally meet her niece. 

Rae-Rae didn't know how long she stood there, gazing at her brother and niece as they slept. She was about to call it creepy stalking and thought about going back to work, but then she heard Lu's elevator open, and she took off without a second glance. 

***

Three hours later, Chloe was finally able to return home. The paperwork took her an hour to get through (God had they screwed all of her organization up!) and many coworkers wanted to see pictures of Iris and that took a very long time. 

While a few hours out of the house did wonders for Chloe, she missed Iris so much it ached. 

"Lucifer?" Chloe called into the penthouse. The lights were off and all was quiet; very strange considering that the penthouse hadn't been quiet since they brought Iris home. Chloe immediately feared the worst. 

However, she couldn't help but notice that the penthouse looked and smelled clean. All of the laundry was picked up and the surfaces were rid of dust. There was a bag of dirty laundry in the corner, but at least it was organized. 

Chloe set her keys down and wandered into the bedroom. The sight she was met with stopped her in her tracks. Chloe beamed when she found Lucifer asleep in their bed, Iris knocked out on his chest, using his chest like a pillow. Why they were both shirtless, Chloe didn't know, but she had to cover her mouth with her hand to avoid making a noise and waking them both. 

She did, however, pull out her phone and walked around to the foot of the bed. She zoomed in her camera so that she could get a better view capturing Iris on Lucifer's chest and his content expression. Chloe was glad to see him finally at peace after the chaos of the last few months. His dark long eyelashes and mussed hair softened his features even more, illuminating his permanent perfect youth.

She took the picture and left them to continue napping. They all deserved a bit of peace before the storm of parenting took its toll again. Chloe felt ninety-nine percent sure of one thing: Iris was going to be a hell of a daddy's girl.

Chloe was about to head to the kitchen to start making them some food, but she spared one more loving glance back at her amazing family. 

This was good, she thought, there's no way any of this could not be good.


	4. Baby In The Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a school dance coming up, Chloe has to take Trixie out shopping, leaving Lucifer alone with Iris again. Now that he's done this at least once, Lucifer is much more comfortable parenting by himself. He decides to take the baby down to Lux for a little bit.

A few days after Lucifer was first left in charge of Iris, Chloe felt more confident in slowly stepping back into normal life. She would have to go back to full-time work in five days, not to mention make up for lost time with Trixie. 

Trixie always came over to the penthouse on Chloe's regularly scheduled custody days, but she knew that Trixie wasn't getting the attention she used to. Luckily, Dan, Maze, and Chloe's mom took turns over the last month keeping her company. The small penthouse Lucifer set up for her right below them seemed to help too, even though Chloe wasn't completely comfortable with it. Trixie's favorite thing to do though (when she came over) was hangout with Iris. She seemed like she could just sit and play and talk to her baby sister for hours, making Chloe's heart absolutely swell. She wished she could have had a sibling growing up, but it was enough to see her daughter's interact like that. Hopefully they'll stay this close as they grow up.

Friday after school meant the start of another one of Chloe's weekends. Trixie's school had scheduled a winter dance for the whole junior high school, and she really wanted to go.

"Why?" Lucifer pressed when she told them at dinner one night. "What could possibly be exciting about a gym full of pubescent urchins standing around staring at each other and listening to God awful pop music?"

Trixie shrugged and answered, "Cause it's one of the last big dances they have. We'll be graduating in the spring and most of my friends are going to different high schools, so we just want to, I don't know, hang out as much as we can."

Chloe understood how she felt; she had lost touch with a lot of school friends when she started acting, and part of her regretted never getting back in touch with them. They were really good friends to her. 

Chloe had suggested that she take Trixie shopping for a new outfit for the dance, just the two of them, and Trixie was thrilled about the idea. Trixie enjoyed shopping and Chloe was looking forward to some one-on-one time with Trixie. Not that being with her and Iris at the same time was bad, but Trixie needed her mom too.

So that's exactly what they did after Chloe picked Trixie up from school that Friday afternoon. 

***

Since Lucifer's first time babysitting Iris went so well, both of them were much more comfortable being separated for a few hours. In fact, yesterday Chloe spent the whole day alone with Iris while Lucifer dealt with a dire shipping issue with one of Lux's alcohol providers without once feeling overwhelmed. 

"Right," Lucifer said, turning to Iris after Chloe left. "Just you and me again, spawn."

Lucifer crouched near a play-pad the detective had set up on the floor. Iris apparently needed to begin engaging in more "tummy-time" now that her neck and other joints were getting stronger. She smiled up at him, seemingly proud of her work.

"Very strong already, I see." Lucifer complimented her, now adorning a proud smirk of his own. "And still smiling for just your dad. Your mum still won't believe me that you're smiling yet, but we can keep that our little secret."

Iris made a few more grunting noises before gently setting herself back down on the mat and just laid there.

Lucifer's phone buzzed in his pocket. "Excuse me for a moment," He muttered. Pulling his phone out, a notification from his calendar reminded him that there was a Lux staff meeting this afternoon before opening. He rarely attended these, seeing as that's what he hired shift managers for.

That's when an idea dawned on him. He had sent he staff a picture of newborn Iris at the hospital. Since then, the entire staff seemed more excited than he had ever known them to be about anything. In the last few weeks, his staff had sent him and the detective cards and flowers, congratulating them on the new addition to their family. He was confused by their actions, not understanding why they cared, - seeing as human spawn were born everyday - but the detective explained to him that new babies were a good thing, people like babies, and sending flowers and things is a normal thing humans do for such an occasion. Even some of those gossiping wankers at the L.A.P.D. sent the detective flowers and congratulatory cards. 

Sometimes he wonders if he'll ever understand humans. They can be bloody impossible sometimes. 

"Child," Lucifer turned back to her, lowering himself to the floor and sitting cross legged next to her. 

"What do you say about getting out of the house and meeting some friends of mine, yeah?"

Lucifer set Iris in her swing while he fixed himself up. He had just started wearing his suits once again (today was a heather gray shirt with a black jacket and pants). He went to the bathroom to fix his eyeliner (also something he hadn't bothered wearing since Iris was born), made sure every hair was perfectly in place, and his stubble was neatly trimmed. 

When he was finished, he brought Iris into her nursery and searched through her wardrobe for something suitable to wear to his club. It was time his daughter wore something other than plain onesies and pajamas. 

Unfortunately, the red dress he had picked out for her was too big on her for now, so he'd have to find something else. 

"Ah ha!" He exclaimed triumphantly, finding an acceptable outfit in a dresser drawer. 

He set to changing her diaper, letting her be entertained by a brightly colored mobile hanging above her. Lucifer liked it because it wasn't one that needed to hang from the ceiling. You could move it to wherever the baby was napping. It was a mobile mobile!

The onesie he found was one that he helped the detective buy off the internet while they were shopping for child necessities. It was long sleeved, which would keep her warm, and it said: **Daddy's favorite human** in a wreath of black-outlined leaves. 

Now, while he didn't personally write the saying, he stilled loved it. Iris wasn't completely human, but she was still one of his favorite people.

"Your mum is probably my favorite human. You're my favorite _half_ -human." He clarified to her. 

He found a ruffley turquoise skirt to cover her butt and yet be appropriate for the occasion. He maneuvered her impossibly small feet into black baby flats. To match, he pulled out a light blue head wrap with a large bow on the front. Lastly, he stuck a black and white pacifier in her mouth. 

"Perfect!" He announced, picking her up and heading down to the club.

***

"Okay, I know it's Friday and we have a long night ahead of us, so let's make this meeting quick people! Just a few house keeping notes I'd like to remind every one of," Megan the manager announced to a floor full of bored-looking bartenders, dancers, bouncers, and valet staff. 

Nobody had noticed Lucifer step off the elevator. 

"Excuse me!" Lucifer called out just as Megan was about to continue with the first order of business. All eyes turned to him and so many faces lit up at seeing the contents of his arms. A few of the dancers squealed in excitement. 

"Now, normally I'd appreciate such a warm welcome," Lucifer chuckled, "But I've got a sneaking suspicion all of this attention isn't for me." He strode over next to Megan - who beamed at the baby - at the center of the dance floor near his piano where the microphone was. "I'm sure Megan had a nice little laundry list for you all, but as your employer I would like to introduce all of you to the newest member of the Lux community."

He shifted Iris higher on his arm. Her eyes were bright and fully awake, fascinated by all of the bright lights above her. 

"This," Lucifer beamed, "is Iris Melody Morningstar, mine and Detective Decker's daughter."

She was met with an array of pleasant greetings from baby-loving pole dancers to large beefy-looking bouncers. Iris seemed to love the attention and every one fawning over her. 

Megan crossed her arms over her chest, although she seemed equally enamored with the baby. "She's so beautiful," She complimented. 

"Isn't she?" Lucifer agreed. "Completely healthy too. At least that's what the pediatrician said two weeks ago."

"You know that picture of her you sent us? The one from the hospital when she's all wrapped up in her pink blanket?" She asked. 

Lucifer nodded and hummed, watching as Tanya, a dancer, handed Iris off to Patrick the bartender. 

Megan giggled and replied, "I posted it on Lux's Instagram account. Did you know that picture has _three million_ likes?"

Lucifer looked at Megan, a look of shock and admiration of his face. "You know, I posted that same picture, as well as one of the three of us, on my personal account and last time I checked, those pictures had millions of likes and thousands of comments. That's insane that a five hour old infant could single-handedly get more likes in one post than I ever have in any post before her."

Then he searched the crowd for Iris again, finding her with Ben, and called out, "Did you hear that darling? You're only a month old and already Instagram famous!"

He continued answering questions about Iris and how he and the detective were doing with parenthood. The staff seemed to love having her around. Any agenda Megan had was completely forgotten about.

Speak of the him, the manager found him a few minutes later lounging by the bar, a tumbler of whisky in his hand. 

"I don't mean to micromanage you, but should you really be drinking while you're on daddy-duty?" She asked dryly as she took the stool next to him, crossing one leg over the other. 

Lucifer chuckled, "I'm immortal Meggy, you know normal amounts of alcohol don't effect me."

She shook her head and grunted. He knew Megan hated it when he called her Meggy, but he did it anyway. Of course humans who weren't (as Dr. Linda called it) "celestial insiders" would never understand him and never accept the truth, no matter how many times he told them. 

"Can I be honest with you?" She asked earnestly. 

Lucifer considered her curiously. He nodded. Honesty was never a bad thing to him, so why did his manager wanting to be honest with him make his stomach lurch?

Megan took a deep breath and said lowly, "You've changed a lot since I started working here,"

Megan had been one of the managers since Lucifer opened Lux nearly ten years ago. She was fresh out of college and her family had cut her off (small town Minnesota wasn't too thrilled with their little girl making the move to Los Angeles), therefore, she found herself fresh out of money. Lucifer had given her a break. Megan worked diligently and was probably his best manager (besides Maze). The staff respected her and she kept much of the business running smoothly. Since Megan had begun working at Lux, she paid off all of her college debt, fell in love with one of the bartenders, married him, and now they have a son together. Megan seemed very happy. Lucifer wondered why he had never really thought about that until now.

"You were the only person in this entire city who would hire a homeless college graduate with a bachelor's degree in business. To be honest, you creeped me the hell out, with your whole...devil-shtick and everything, but I was grateful. You're a good boss who helped me pay my rent and start my life. The only thing you asked of me was to do my job, and I love this job, please don't misunderstand me. It's just that...I kind of always wondered what your deal was. Is the whole "Lucifer" thing just a business play? A kink? You never really seemed like a _bad_ guy, just, like, the type of person to never grow up, kinda of like Peter Pan, always searching for the next adventure, the fun."

She stopped and smiled a little before continuing in a sort of mothering voice, "Then Detective Decker started coming around and you started changing...a lot. Granted, you still really concern me sometimes, but I'm glad you too found each other." Megan put a hand on his knee platonically. 

"Thank you?" Lucifer said as more of a question. He couldn't tell if Megan was trying to compliment his development over the years or insult him somehow. 

She laughed, clearly catching his uncertainty. "I know, I'm missing the point. I remember when we all found out that Detective Decker was pregnant. None of us knew what was going to happen. Like, the image of _you_ being a father, with your reputation, was absolutely mind-blowing."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at her, "Hold on. Are you saying I'm the hot topic of gossip around here?"

Megan bit her bottom lip and winced, like she had just divulged a big secret she wasn't supposed to tell. One leg began bouncing anxiously against the stool.

"Every once in a while you are. Nobody talks badly about you, if that's what you're thinking. You helped a lot of us out when we needed it, you've even protected the girls when drunk guys get too aggressive, and we're all extremely grateful." She sighed and then continued, "We were just concerned about how you might feel about a baby disrupting your life here and...stuff."

Megan gestured absently to the club around them. Then her tone lowered, almost like she was disappointed, "I told them not to, but I heard rumors about people placing bets on whether you were going to leave the kid or...ask Detective Decker to get an abortion."

Lucifer was horrified. Granted, he did consider each option (if even for a second) when the detective found out about the pregnancy, but now he regretted even forming the ideas in his personal thoughts. Iris was the light of his life; he's not sure how to live without her or Chloe anymore. They were the most important things to him and the thought of either of them being hurt felt like his insides had been set on fire. 

He shook his head at Megan, feeling his right fist clench around his glass. 

"And why, pray tell, would they think that? Why would they think I would ever abandon or hurt my child?" He asked through gritted teeth.

Megan sighed again, her shoulders dropping. "I don't know! Probably the whole Satan's Spawn thing? Rosemary's baby? Some people around here are actually convinced you're the devil and watch _way_ too many movies.."

"But I am the devil!"

"Whatever. I really don't know. It was stupid, but I took care of it, so please don't worry about it, and I'm sorry it ever happened."

She paused before saying, "If you were wondering why we all sent so many flowers and cards, it's because we are all so proud of you for growing up and starting a family of your own and just...being happy. You know a lot of us - the dancers especially - have...parental issues. I guess we just...we hoped that you'd, I don't know, not make your kid go through the same pain we went through. I think that's where a lot of that talk came from."

Lucifer's anger faded. If there was anybody in the entire universe who knew a thing about parental issues (especially daddy issues) it was him. He supposed he did hire people who he felt a sort of kinship with. His entire staff was composed of the metaphorical black sheep of their families, the rebels, and the outcasts. That's what made this place is the most popular den of inequity in the city. Lux suddenly felt like even more of a home to him than it had before. There are people here who understood him (at least somewhat) and had his daughter's best interests at heart. 

Lucifer smiled at the manager and offered a quiet, "Thank you,"

She nodded graciously. They continued to sit there, watching the staff attend to the baby, while Lucifer finished his drink and Megan added, "She really is adorable by the way. I see a lot of you in her."

Lucifer gave a gruff chuckle and replied, "Hopefully my beauty and her mother's brains."

Megan shrugged, "Eh, either way, at least she didn't come out with horns and red eyes or a forked tongue or something."

Lucifer nearly spit out his drink. "Excuse me?"

"Oh and she's a girl. Isn't like, the devil's child, ender of days, supposed to be a boy?"

Lucifer furrowed his eyebrows and spit back, "That is absolutely ridiculous. I have _never_ had any intention of wreaking havoc on Earth. I've certainly never even had any desire to procreate until just recently, so I never had a preference in gender before the pregnancy. Goodness, I just had this conversation with my sister too and had to convince her that Iris isn't evil! I don't know where humanity every dreamed up that absurdity. I don't bloody understand-"

Megan cracked up laughing, "Lucifer, I'm just joking! She's beautiful and so sweet. If she ever gets into any trouble, I think she's just scored security's protection."

Sure enough, Iris had snuggled herself into the arms of some of the burly, ex-military, security guards and bouncers, making them seem like completely soft and squishy teddy bears.

Lucifer found his natural cheshire grin and set his empty tumbler on the bar, saying louder, "Right, better get the little distraction back upstairs before opening. I don't believe her mother would be too keen on introducing her to the patrons just yet."

As he stood up from the bar stool, he stumbled a little. Megan gasped and threw her arms out in case she needed to catch him, but Lucifer righted himself quickly.

He laughed the small incident off and said, "Goodness me. Must've stood up too quickly."

"You're okay though?" Megan asked. 

"Absolutely! Why wouldn't I be?" Lucifer replied as he turned to go find his daughter. 

That was strange though. He had never felt woozy like that before, especially after just one drink. The only explanation he could come up with was that the detective was around, perhaps she had come back from shopping early? No, she couldn't have. It hadn't even been an hour since she left to go pick up her offspring, and she had told him not to expect them back for several hours. Maybe he had just simply tripped. That happens, right?

He strode over to the middle of the crowd where the bouncers had handed Iris off to a group of (practically drooling) dancers. 

"All right, off you pop! You lot have work to do." He ordered, taking Iris back with a grin. 

While the staff finished preparing Lux for opening, Lucifer headed back into the elevator with Iris. 

"So that's Lux, my club. It's a great place for some dirty fun, I promise, but I don't think your mother will let you go down there during business hours with me until you're much older. It's my greatest work...besides you of course."

That was a fantastic feeling, actually, having Iris inside of Lux. The two things he had created that he was most proud were able to meet for the first time. No drug had ever made him feel as high as he was right now. 


	5. Back To Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After six weeks of leave, it's finally time for Chloe (and Lucifer) to return to work at the L.A.P.D.. They've decided to leave Iris with Amenadiel for the time being, and there are many many emotions involved with this huge step.

_Buzz buzz buzz_

Chloe's alarm rang at six-thirty a.m.

_Buzz buzz buzz_

She moaned and rolled over, slapping at her phone until the buzzing stopped.

She felt Lucifer stir next to her, woken by the alarm as well. Chloe turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling while her sleep-weighted eyelids took their time opening and her vision focused. Then she sighed. 

"Today's a big day," She said a little gruffly, the sleep still straining her voice. 

Lucifer took a deep breath and turned onto his back as well. 

"Yes," Was all he said. Chloe stayed quiet. He hardly ever answered with just one word. She peered at him out of the corner of her eyes and saw that he was staring hard at the ceiling too, and he frowned like he was deep in thought.

"What're you thinking about?" Chloe asked him quietly. 

Lucifer hummed questioningly and then answered, "It's strange, the things you think you want until they're gone. I've experienced this a number of times in my life, but yet for some reason, I never see this odd hollow, or longing, sensation coming, but when it does come..."

Chloe took a deep breath, nodded, and then finished his sentence for him, "You try to forget about it. I know what you mean."

Lucifer smirked, "You know what it's like to be so invested in the woman you love, and a job the both of you are passionate about, and have it all be taken away by a helpless sticky urchin, just to find out that you don't want to go back to work because you enjoy spending time with said urchin?"

Chloe hummed an affirmative and then added, "Just, you know, I would say ' _man_ ' and uh ' _baby_ ' instead of ' _woman_ ' and ' _urchin_ '."

He laughed beside her which made Chloe laugh. She reached over and found his hand on his chest and interlocked their fingers. Chloe turned her face to the bassinet besides her. 

Iris hadn't woken up with the alarm. Her sleep schedule was seeming to regulate the last few nights, which Chloe was beyond grateful for. She actually got a decent amount of uninterrupted sleep before her first day back at work.

The baby was sleeping on her back with her hands beside her head, her head turned toward Chloe as she continued to sleep peacefully. She seemed cold last night so Chloe slipped her in pink footie pajamas and put matching mittens on her hands, so that way no part of her was cold.

Chloe gave a sad smile. She had slowly started leaving Iris for a few hours, but that's all it had been, a few. She couldn't be apart from her new baby for more than about three hours. Lucifer had only left her and Iris a few times during the leave, mostly to pick up groceries, but that didn't take very long, thanks to most grocery stores providing parking lot pickup now. The longest he had been apart from her was about six hours when Lux had a shipping issue, but when he returned, he wouldn't let Iris out of his sight. 

"I miss work, and I want to go back so badly, but...God I'm going to miss her so much." She breathed. 

She heard Lucifer grunt at her unintentional slip in words, but he didn't say anything more. 

Instead, he lifted her hand to his mouth and gently kissed her knuckle, waiting until she turned back to him. 

"You want to prepare the offspring for the day while I make us some brekky?" He asked. Chloe laughed and nodded. When Lucifer said "offspring" he actually meant it in the plural sense of the word. Trixie had stayed with them last night, so she had to get ready for school. 

Both Chloe and Lucifer left the bed at the same time. Chloe decided to let Iris sleep for a few more minutes before her big day started. She picked up the baby monitor (one equipped with a camera and microphone) and watched it as she rode the elevator down one floor to Trixie's "room". 

The large space had taken on more and more of Trixie's personality in the two months since she started staying there. Most of her furniture from her old bedroom was here, but Lucifer also splurged on a few more comfort items for her. This mini penthouse only consisted of a bedroom, bathroom, and living/homework space, that way Trixie couldn't get into too much trouble. Chloe also appreciated the extra layers of security Lucifer put on the elevator, preventing unwanted guests into the penthouse or Trixie's room. Trixie absolutely loved it and probably never brought up the topic of moving back home because of how awesome her new temporary home was. 

Chloe shuffled her way carefully through the dark. Trixie strung some LED lights around her living space and above the elevator for night time movement, but the black-out purple curtains she had (Lucifer) put up above the massive windows hindered most of any light source while Trixie was sleeping. 

Eventually, Chloe made her way successfully over to her daughter's bed and gently woke her up. 

"Trixie, time for get up for school." Chloe cooed, rubbing Trixie's back and kissing the top of her head. 

Trixie groaned and turned over, sluggishly blinking her eyes. "M'kay," She muttered, rubbing one eye with the heel of her hand. 

"I kind of need you to hurry up too. Lucifer's making breakfast upstairs and I need to get myself and the baby ready to go."

"Oh yeah," Trixie yawned. "First day of work and daycare."

As Chloe made her way back to the elevator, glancing down at the monitor once again to check on Iris, Trixie told her that she'd go get dressed and brush her teeth and then be up.

Back upstairs, Iris made it plainly clear that she was not a fan of early mornings.

"I know, I'm sorry honey, but we've gotta get going today. Mommy and Daddy have to go to work." Chloe attempted at consoling her six-week old. 

Chloe worked diligently as she changed and dressed Iris as quickly as possible, trying not to be frustrated by Iris's constant wailing. Then, she realized, she still had to feed her. Man was she glad she thought to pack the diaper bag and drop off the cooler of breast milk last night. 

As soon as they were finished, Chloe headed into the kitchen with Iris. Trixie was eating an omelet and sipping some juice at the breakfast bar while scrolling through her phone.

"Hey monkey," Chloe sighed, setting Iris down in the pack-and-play and running a hand through her hair. 

"Where's Lucifer?" She asked, looking around. Two omelets were made and a steaming mug of coffee sat on the counter, but the only man living in the house was nowhere to be found. 

Trixie swallowed a bite of omelet and reported, "He went to go get dressed. Said that the coffee and one omelet is for you."

"Okay," Chloe breathed, resting her hands on her hips. They definitely needed to pick up a new routine. This was a little stressful. 

Chloe took the coffee and sipped. The warmth and perfect mixture of sweet and bitter graced her tongue pleasantly and stimulated some of her still-sleeping senses as it made its way down. 

"Mmm, that's good." Chloe commented, earning a smirk from Trixie. 

"Okay," She said with more finality. "I'm going to go get ready and hopefully when I'm done, I'll get to eat at least some breakfast. Just let Iris hangout there until Lucifer comes back,"

***

Chloe didn't think her first headache of the day was going to come at barely eight o'clock in the morning. Maybe by lunch, she had thought this morning, but Lucifer was going at it with the complaining and dramatics bright-and-early.

Iris's daycare situation had been a huge debate between the two of them for several weeks now. They both agreed that she was still a little young to spend all day at a germy, loud daycare. Lucifer had insisted that Iris come with them (to which Chloe shot him a terrifyingly appalled look). 

"Iris cannot come to work with us! I-it's unprofessional, not to mention dangerous, and neither of us can spread our attention equally between Iris and work. Iris needs to be taken care of between nine to five so that we can do our jobs." 

"But Detective!" Lucifer whined, "Is leaving her with my brother and his own drooling parasite all day really in her best interest?"

After weeks of thinking and debating, the best idea Chloe could come up with was to leave Iris with Amenadiel and Charlie during the work week. All of their other friends worked during the day, and sure, Lucifer could afford a long-term nanny, but after the demon incident with Charlie and Remiel threatening Iris's life not long ago, Chloe didn't want to risk letting her stay with a stranger. Amenadiel had been a stay-at-home dad for the last two and a half years, a job he absolutely adored, and he had even offered to watch Iris first before Chloe approached him about it.

"I," Chloe paused to take a calming breath. "Look, I know that your feelings toward Amenadiel are,"

Lucifer looked at her expectantly.

"Complicated," Chloe finished, "but he's the best option we have until Iris gets older. Plus, I think it'll be good for her and Charlie to start establishing some kind of relationship. As far as I know, they're the only members of their...species...I guess." 

Chloe's argument petered off at the end. She's still not one hundred percent confident in her supernatural terminology or history, but she does know how important it is for any living creature to be socialized around others like them, and for Iris, Charlie is the only one like her. 

Lucifer sighed, "I suppose. When will Dr. Linda be home? At least if she's there, that makes me feel somewhat better. My brother did hand his child off to a demon disguised as a night nurse, remember?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "That was years ago,"

"And he raised a sociopath from the dead to try and send me back to Hell!"

"I thought you two had gotten past that."

" _And_ he lied to you about who we truly are, when I would've been fine with you testing my blood and finding out yourself."

"Lucifer, he's our only good option right now."

That was the only answer she could come up with for his remarks. Honestly, she's not sure if Linda had totally forgiven Amenadiel for his actions the week Charlie was born, which is why they were only co-parenting two years later and not in a solid relationship. She knew Amenadiel regretted wanting to kidnap Charlie, handing him over to a demon, and being the reason Charlie was almost taken to Hell. As for his past decisions, Chloe had been learning to forgive the angel, even though it was difficult at times, considering all that transpired. Amenadiel was truly sorry. She knows now that Amenadiel likely punished himself far worse than anything she could come up with. Chloe had seen Amenadiel make huge strides lately, not just as a father, but as a person who thinks and cares about the feelings of others. Given all of the danger that could be present in their lives, she felt safest leaving Iris with Amenadiel. 

"So what? You'd rather leave her with fifteen other children and three women who are spread too thin caring for all of them, risking exposing her to sicknesses her immune system isn't ready to handle yet, among other things?" Chloe countered. 

Lucifer pinched the bridge of his noise and said impatiently, "All I can picture in my mind is Little Bullet being mauled by sticky handed urchins and bored twenty-somethings neglecting her."

Chloe couldn't help but chuckle at the mental picture. Daycare wasn't as bad as Lucifer was fearing, but Chloe's gut told her that Iris just wasn't ready yet. 

"Daycare will be good one day. It's the best way for her to socialize with other kids. Dan and I had Trixie in daycare for years before she started school and we never had an issue. It's just what normal working parents do."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes slightly at her. "Are you saying we aren't normal parents?"

Chloe scoffed. Of all the things he could've taken from her sentence, he chose that? "Aw come on Lucifer, you know that's not what I meant!"

She can't believe, after all this time, he was still using that "are you okay with me?" card with her. 

"I just mean that we don't have to give up our working lives just because we had a baby." 

Chloe gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and tried her calming breaths. 

After a few moments of silence, Lucifer spoke up again, the topic surprising Chloe.

"What if I became a stay-at-home father?"

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows and took her eyes off the road for a moment to look at him like he had grown two heads. 

"What?"

Lucifer had an index finger on his chin and stared at the road while he thought. 

"I think I could manage it. I would spend the day with Iris until she begins school while you go to work. When you get home at night or just on the weekends, I'll go to Lux and do what I need to there. Honestly, it's just my name on everything there. Maze handles all the books and I have managers to handle the day-to-day business. I just fund the place and sign everybody's checks."

While it seemed like a plausible idea on paper, Chloe shook her head. "No, I really don't think that's good for you or Iris, Lucifer. I mean, you love your jobs, and I know you like being Iris's dad, but I really think you'd regret giving up working at the L.A.P.D. just to stay home with her. Plus, as much as it hurts us, we need her to learn how to spend time away from us. She needs to play with other kids. Even you going to Lux at night or on the weekends, your life wouldn't be nearly close enough to what it used to be and I don't think you'd be happy. Plus, if we're just switching shifts, that means there'd be no time for _us._ "

He gave a small nod, still staring ahead. Chloe had no way of knowing if he was actually considering what she was saying or just thinking his own thoughts and tuning her out. There was a good chance it was the latter. 

Chloe turned onto Linda's street and Lucifer didn't say anything further. This topic would probably come up again soon, but hopefully Chloe could deter it as long as she could. 

"You have therapy today, don't you?" Chloe asked as she parked in the driveway. 

"Yes," Lucifer said more lightly. "I scheduled it during lunch, so, unfortunately I won't be able to join you today."

"That's okay," Chloe answered genuinely. She offered him a small smile as she undid her seat belt. "I'm glad you're still getting the help if you need it."

Chloe took Iris in her car seat to the door while Lucifer grabbed the diaper bag and stroller from the trunk. Iris had fallen asleep in the car an stirred some as she was being moved. 

Once Lucifer came up beside her, Chloe rang the door bell. They could hear voices on the other side.

A moment later, Charlie struggled to open the front door, hanging onto the doorknob with both tiny hands while he stood on his tip-toes. Amenadiel helped open the door from behind him. 

Charlie beamed up at Chloe and exclaimed, "Auntie Chloe and Unca' Luci!"

After pleasantries were exchanged, Amenadiel showed his brother and Chloe into the family room. Charlie amicably set to showing his uncle all of his toys with a full description of what they do. 

"Ah, yes, that's...that's...very nice, child." Lucifer replied to Charlie's babbling uncomfortably as the small boy smashed cars together about a foot away from Lucifer's face. Lucifer leaned away from his nephew, closer to Chloe, his posture unusually rigid.

One glance at the clock urged Chloe into a bit of a rush. 

"Okay, so, I dropped off some of my milk yesterday," She began.

Amenadiel nodded and replied, "Yes, it's all in the freezer and all I have to do is warm it up."

"Right. I just fed her under an hour ago so you should have a little while before she gets hungry again. Uh...diapers, burp cloths, bibs, a second outfit, and anything she might need are in the bag." Chloe stared at a point on a nearby wall, her expression hard and somewhere else. Lucifer identified it as her "thinking face". 

He glanced at the clock as well and interrupted, "We should get going Detective. Don't want to be late on our first day back."

Tentatively, Chloe followed Lucifer off the couch. Amenadiel stood with them. Chloe wasn't finished with her newborn crash-course yet. It couldn't hurt to give Amenadiel all the possible information he needed, right? He was raising a toddler now, and maybe he doesn't remember how to care for an infant! She did know if she carried on any longer they would certainly show up late to work, maybe even not go in at all. 

She continued to throw tips over her shoulder, but Lucifer just pulled her closer to the door, his arm gingerly around her waist and trying his best not to push her. Amenadiel, as annoyingly stoic and charming as ever, smiled and nodded politely at all of Chloe's pointers while he took Iris out of her car seat. 

He carried her with him as they reach the door. Once Lucifer had opened it, he began calling out goodbyes and snide comments about being late louder and faster than Chloe could describe how to properly put Iris down for a nap.

It seemed to hit both of them at the same time the reality that they were about to leave their daughter with someone else, without them, all day for the first time since she was born. They glanced at each other before looking back at Iris, who was now awake and looking at them from her uncle's arms. _Gosh, she looks so small, is she really that small?_ Chloe thought.

"Okay," Chloe said sadly, bringing her arms up to take Iris. Amenadiel handed her over and Chloe brought her in close. 

Chloe rocked her daughter lightly and kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much Iris. Be a good girl for Uncle Amenadiel today, okay? Mommy and Daddy will be back right after work, I promise. Love you."

When Chloe finished, she handed Iris off to Lucifer. 

Once she was settled, Lucifer looked at her for what they both knew would be the last time in hours. Chloe caught a bit of what he was staring at so uncertainly. She was so precious, her face one of innocence that no being had ever betrayed yet, and every feature was unbelievably small and fragile. Seemingly the opposite, her large dark eyes took in every thing around her, the light behind them a relief among all the bad in the world. 

For once in his life (which was longer than Chloe could fathom), Lucifer seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Right, well," He began. Iris just kept on staring at him, then at the ceiling, and then wherever else her eyes glanced. "Be good today," He hesitated and then finished with, "Be back soon, Little Bullet."

With that, he handed the baby back to Amenadiel. Before Chloe could process the lack of emotion behind his words or ask him what that was about, Lucifer led Chloe out, and Amenadiel shut the door behind them, reassuring Chloe that the three of them will be fine and to have a good day. 

After Chloe and Lucifer got into her car, they sat there staring ahead for a moment. Chloe gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth to calm her heart rate.

"Detective?" Lucifer mumbled next to her. 

"Hmm?" Chloe asked, still staring at the door. 

"Are we...going to work?" He asked timidly. 

Chloe nodded and breathed, "Yeah," as she backed out of the driveway.

She knew she was being ridiculous. This wasn't Chloe's first rodeo with the end of maternity leave. She had felt all of these emotions with Trixie, granted it was thirteen years ago, but Chloe still remembered the separation anxiety and all of the physical and emotional pain that came along with removing yourself from your baby for the first time ever. 

Even though she had been mentally preparing herself for all of these things, especially having previous experience with it, nothing seemed to help. It was taking every nerve and bout of stubbornness inside of Chloe to not turn this damn car around right now and take her daughter back home. 

But as much as she loves and adores Iris, she loves her job too, it's what she's meant to do. Chloe's proud of her work as a cop (a detective no less), and it is the greatest honor of her life to be able to be a great detective and a great mother. 

It's officially time to get back to normal. Chloe knows that she's beyond lucky to have such an amazing support system and close partners in raising her children. There's no way she'd be able to do this without them.

She spared a glance at Lucifer. He reverted to talking about his stay-at-home dad plan and how he could make it work with all of his other responsibilities. Chloe hummed along with him, even though she didn't agree with him in the slightest. Hopefully Linda would be able to talk some sense into him today, and convince him that staying at home was not in his nor Iris's best interests. 

She couldn't help but remember that, back at the house, Lucifer seemed more detached from Iris than he had been in the last few weeks. She was unbelievably proud of how far he's come over the last year, since finding out about the pregnancy and wanting to be the best father he could be. Now he and Iris seemed closer than she knew him to be with anybody else (besides her), but at Linda's, Lucifer didn't seem to care that he wasn't going to see Iris all day. 

When they arrived at the precinct, they were met with a few questions about how Chloe was doing and a few more about Iris. Thankfully, Lucifer seemed glad to take the bulk of those questions, enthusiastically showing anybody who would spare him five seconds of their time pictures of Iris. Still strange, Chloe thought, considering his earlier behavior. At least while he distracted their coworkers (especially Ella) Chloe found the time to have her official back-to-work meeting with the lieutenant. 

Ten minutes later, Chloe came out of the lieutenant's office, a file in hand, and spotted Lucifer in Ella's lab. A smile on her face to match her inner happiness at being back at work, she headed over in the direction of the lab, until a somebody blocked her path. 

"Hey Chloe," Dan said with a bright smile. 

"Dan, hi," Chloe said politely. She had seen him a couple of times in the last few weeks. Dan always rode up the elevator with Trixie when he dropped her off at the penthouse, but he'd only make sure Trixie got inside alright. He never stayed long. 

"Glad to see your back," He said, switching a folder from one hand to the other. "This place has been pretty quiet without you, and...you know,"

Dan let the suggestion of Lucifer hang in the air with disdain. Chloe raised an unamused eyebrow, hinting toward her disapproval. 

Dan let out a minuscule chuckle, knowing that he had struck a nerve. His distaste toward Lucifer hadn't changed at all in the last two years since Lucifer came back from Hell, especially not even when he became the father of Dan's daughter's sister. It was precinct-wide knowledge that Dan and Lucifer were essentially worst enemies, but Chloe just would not accept that. These two needed to learn how to get along. 

"How's, uh, how's the baby?" Dan asked. 

Chloe smiled despite that aching pang in her stomach. Another good part about Lucifer taking all of the Iris-related questions was that Chloe could ignore her separation anxiety for a little while longer. 

"She's good. Amazing. Honestly, Dan, she's incredible." Chloe couldn't help but ramble, her grin stretching from ear-to-ear. 

He returned her excitement and chuckled, "Yeah. Trixie comes home with all these stories about Iris and shows me all the new pictures."

Chloe laughed, "Yeah Trix is definitely obsessed."

They laughed for a while before Dan reminisced, his face falling with bitterness, "God, I remember the first days back at work after Trixie. That really sucked."

Then his voice quieted as he looked into Chloe's eyes seriously, "How're you Chloe? It's just, I remember how you were, how we _both_ were after leaving Trixie for the first time."

Chloe let out a long breath. She hadn't thought about talking to Dan about anything. He was the one person she knows who knew exactly what she was feeling because he had gone through it right beside her long ago. They became parents together, both for the first time, so there was a ton of trial and error with their emotions, but they made it through for Trixie, at least for a few more years. 

"I'm," Chloe began, "I'm here."

She settled with that. Dan's eyes were so bright, kind, and welcoming, straying away from his textbook douchiness (as Lucifer described it). She wanted to vent to him about how her limbs trembled with anxiety, her stomach knotted like a boy scout was practicing his badge-knots on it, and her heart felt hollow which she knew could only be filled by having Iris in her arms again. But she couldn't, because if she did, she would be breaking down in front of all of her coworkers and once again being painted as "the chick cop" or "the mom cop" among other stupid nicknames. At work, it was vital that she remain an emotionless brick wall and do whatever it took to put the monsters behind bars. 

Dan's lips quirked upward in response. It wasn't a smile and it wasn't even close to anything happy, but he accepted her answer. He tapped his folder and replied, "Well, if you do need anything, or want me to knock some sense into Lucifer, all you need to do is ask."

Chloe laughed through her nose and squeezed his bicep reassuringly, "Thanks Dan,"

She slid past him into Ella's lab. Lucifer raved about Iris's ability to smile and how she would only smile for him, which made Ella practically bounce with excitement. Chloe didn't know how many times she would have to tell Lucifer that gas was the only reason she was smiling right now, but whenever she did, he dismissed her facts for the idea that Iris would only smile at him. 

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," Chloe said, popping her head into the entry way. 

"Detective!"

"Hey Chloe! _O.M.G._ Lucifer just showed me all of his pictures of Iris. So. _Cute!_ I can't even! She's just, ugh!" Ella squealed. 

Lucifer grinned devilishly at Ella's response to everything baby-related. 

"Yes, I know what you mean," Lucifer said longingly, but still as charming and care-free as he was when Chloe met him. She felt her cheeks warm. Even if he was having trouble sorting out his feelings regarding Iris growing up and these stages they need to embark on as parents, it was obvious that Lucifer was head-over-heels in love with Iris and that's what mattered.

"I just wanted to let you know that we have a case," Chloe informed him as she held up the file, watching his eyes light up with fascination and anticipation. 

"Right!" He said, straightening up, fixing his jacket, and nodding toward Ella in a way of goodbye. 

"Back to work?" Chloe asked him as they left the lab. 

Lucifer chuckled and replied, "It's good to be back, Detective."


	6. Making Sacrifices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Lucifer's first therapy session with Linda since Iris's birth, he talks through his plan to be a stay-at-home dad. Amenadiel juggles taking care of his three-year old son and six-week old niece.

"It's good to see you again, Doctor." Lucifer beamed, sitting down on Dr. Linda's couch for the first time in months. Linda smiled and nodded her head in acknowledgement. 

"I'm glad you found the time to come in," Linda blithely replied, soon reverting back to her professional façade instead of the friendlier side Lucifer had seen the last two months. 

"Yes, first day back at normal life since the birth." Lucifer folded his hands together in his lap, his signature grin in full affect. 

Linda took a deep breath, glancing down at her notepad, and debating where to start. Finally, she settled with, "So how is everything going? Now that Iris is here I mean. How are you doing with being a father?"

Lucifer's face fell some as Linda ran straight into the tougher side of the questions. "Good. So far." Lucifer began. Linda waited patiently for him to continue. He smile quirked again as he thought of his daughter. "She's...she's very special Doctor."

Linda smiled and nodded. "She is, isn't she?"

"Yes," Lucifer replied enthusiastically. Then he added, " _Plus_ she's only two months old and already Instagram famous! On _two_ accounts no less!"

Linda's encouraging smile fell some as she hesitantly replied, "Yes, uh, I saw your post after Iris was born. The one you captioned, 'I spawned'."

Lucifer grinned wolfishly and chuckled, "That was a good one, wasn't it?"

The picture in question was a selfie of Lucifer holding Iris, all squished up in a pink blanket and beanie. That wasn't the angle of their father/daughter relationship that Linda wanted to discuss though. 

"So," She said quickly with just a touch of sharpness. "How did you feel dropping Iris off with Amenadiel today?"

Lucifer seemed confused at first, not entirely sure how to answer that. 

"Fine. I wasn't overly thrilled with the idea, but the detective seemed certain that this was best while we returned to work." He reached forward and poured himself a glass of water. 

Linda mulled that statement over a bit, wondering how to arrange her thoughts in a way that wouldn't cause him to become defensive or take her intended meaning the wrong way (which was an extremely difficult task given his history of doing so).

"Why do you think that is?" She asked gently, tapping her pencil lightly against her notepad.

Lucifer brought the glass up to his lips, his eyes glancing warily between her and the water. He brought the glass down slowly, but held it between his hands. "Far be it from me to insult your life partner, Doctor," He said with a touch of sarcasm, "but he is also my egotistical brother, and I know what a complete dullard he can be at times."

Interesting, Linda thought. 

"So, you weren't comfortable with Amenadiel babysitting Iris while you returned to work because you think he's incapable of looking after two children?"

Lucifer paused for a second before answering, "I suppose so, yes. Why do my feelings toward my brother matter? I thought we were to be discussing the new offspring?"

Linda proceeded with the grace and delicacy a topic like this needed, especially with a first-time parent. 

"Lucifer, you love your daughter, don't you?"

He sat back slightly, his eyebrows furrowing with shock, like he just couldn't believe the doctor would ask him anything remotely like that or doubt him otherwise. 

Without hesitation, Lucifer replied, "With every fiber of my being, Doctor! I would do anything for her, squishiness and all."

He cracked a cheeky smile. Very typical of Lucifer to avoid serious or painful topics with humor.

Linda took his feelings and progressed, "So it's not strange to think that you'd want the absolute best care for her. That's a very normal protective reaction."

Lucifer preened at hearing that he was doing something right in one way or another. 

"Tell me, it sounds like Amenadiel was more of Chloe's choice for daycare than yours. Who would you have chosen to look after Iris while you and Chloe went back to work?"

Lucifer traded the cup from one hand to the other as he hesitantly replied, "Well, ah, my first choice probably would have been, well, _you_."

Linda willed her face and posture to remain as neutral as possible. "And why is that?"

She would love to have any excuse to take care of her newborn niece anytime, but she knew very well that that wasn't possible, and she was going to help Lucifer figure out why Chloe might have thought that Amenadiel was a better option. 

"Because...I know how good you are with your own offspring, and you're patient, kind, intelligent, and understanding. I think my child could learn a lot being around you. Plus, you've...helped me work through many of my issues, so if Iris ever had any, I would trust that you would be able to help her in any way you can."

Linda couldn't help but smile at his compliment. Judging by his tense posture and slightly skittish features, it must've taken a great amount of humbling that he wasn't accustomed to in order to say that. 

She nodded in thanks. 

"On a more unprofessional note," Linda added, "I would love to spend more time with Iris, but that's just not possible. "She let her sentence hang, hopping that he would finish it. Thankfully he did, fidgeting with the glass a little more. 

"Right, right. I know, you work as well during the day, which is why you entrust your son to his father from nine-to-five."

Good, this is good, Linda thought. 

"Is there anyone else other than me or Amenadiel you would leave Iris with?"

Lucifer thought on that for a moment. She could see his forehead encroach with creases as his thinking picked up in intensity. 

"I suppose I...I can't come up with anyone else. While I know Maze would protect her with her life, she can be a bit, ah, shall we say _much_?"

Linda chuckled and nodded. She loved Maze dearly, but she didn't quite know how to baby-proof her life. 

"Perhaps when Little Bullet is older she can hang out with 'Auntie Maze'," He muttered with a half-smile, taking a drink.

Then he continued, "Miss Lopez would also be a good candidate, but she works. That just about leaves Daniel, and I would discredit him for about a hundred other reasons before realizing that he too works. And I'm not comfortable with anyone we don't know!"

"Now you see why, at least to Chloe, Amenadiel might be the only option you two have right now?"

Lucifer nodded and gave an uneasy hum, but then he continued, "Doesn't mean he's a good option though. I mean, I tried to remind the detective of all of the irresponsible decisions he's made in the last seven years alone, but," He sighed, seeming perplexed still by Chloe's thought process, 

"Did you know, the detective had the audacity to think that our child would be better off with Amenadiel during the day than me, her own father!"

Linda almost choked on air. She blinked rapidly as her eyebrows rose high on her forehead. 

"You...she... _come again_?" Linda asked, her voice tense. 

Lucifer sighed and gestured with his hand while he set the glass back down on the coffee table. His attitude was putting off an aura like Linda should have known this part of the story already. 

"Yes," He nearly hissed. "I tried to persuade the detective to let our child stay at home with me during the work day. Technically, I only consult for the L.A.P.D. - it's not a full-time job - and Lux is more of a night job. I could look after the offspring during the day while the detective works and then we switch places at night. She didn't approve though."

There have been many times over their years of sessions that Lucifer put Linda at a loss for words (professionally). This, however, was like treating an entirely different person. She would _never_ have assumed that Lucifer would willingly take up the job of a stay-at-home dad. She thought he'd be repulsed by spending his time among children all day.

"Lucifer that...that's a huge change in lifestyle that I truly don't think you're prepared for."

He seemed offended for a moment until Linda clarified with a calming hand out in front of her, "Just because you're so used to...extravagance." Among other things that were not child-appropriate. "I just, as your therapist and as your friend, I understand that you want to be there for your child, but I don't think constantly being stuck at home with a small child will make you happy."

Lucifer's tenseness seemed to deflate some. He replied quietly, "The detective said the same thing this morning in the car."

Linda glanced over her notes (even though she probably didn't need to) back to about a year ago when he came into session and told her that Chloe was pregnant. She glanced over everything they've talked about that related to that and asked her next question. Many of his concerns then were based on his relationship with his own father and how that would effect him and this new baby.

"Let's be completely honest here Lucifer," Linda reverted back to her calm and professional tone, while Lucifer seemed completely frustrated by their session so far. 

"Is the lack of an exceptional caretaker the real reason why you're offering to stay at home with Iris? To sacrifice, not only your detective work, but everything else you love about your life here in L.A. too?"

Lucifer stared at her for a moment like she was standing over him with a knife. It was a look of utter vulnerability and Linda knew she was prodding in the emotional space she needed to be. 

Lucifer hung his head slightly and muttered, "No."

Linda's did her best to remain completely neutral, "Why then?"

Lucifer took in a deep breath, and after a moment, he replied, "Well, everything we've spoken about in session about me becoming a father, every parenting book and bloody _blog_ I've ever read repeats one mantra: parenting requires sacrifices. Apparently, you're not a good parent if you don't put your own desires aside for your child. I love Iris more than absolutely anything, so I would give _anything_ for her to get everything she desires."

When he didn't say anymore and seemed at a loss, Linda instructed, "Okay, that's not entirely true. Yes, every parent's life changes when a child comes into their lives, but that doesn't mean their entire life stops. Look at me for example. Would you consider me a good mother to Charlie?"

Even though he still seemed scared, he replied, "As far as my knowledge of mothers goes...yes?"

"You consider me a good mother, yet I use my free time to care for my son, I work, but still make time to go out with my friends. Lucifer, you can still be a good father to Iris while you work and blow off steam at the end of the week."

Lucifer leaned forward conspiratorially, "And how does one do that exactly? What is your day-to-day schedule, Doctor?"

"I can't tell you that," Linda said with a sad smile, "Because every family's schedule is different. You need to figure out what works best for you and your family. For ours, having a working mom and a stay-at-home dad is the best plan for us, but you and Chloe need to come up with your own plan. One that makes you both happy and takes care of your family."

"Oh bloody hell." Lucifer muttered, leaning back on the couch. 

After a moment of silence, Linda said, "I think I want to switch gears a little bit."

She glanced down at her notes again and pushed her glasses up higher on her nose. 

"We've been speaking a lot about your concerns about whether you'll be a good father or not. Over our time together, we've realized that you are trying to overcome many intense abandonment issues, brought on by your past and relationship with both of your parents."

Lucifer eyed her warily. He locked his fingers together, fidgeting every few seconds. 

"How did you feel when you left Iris with Amenadiel today? And I'm not talking about your feelings on Amenadiel's ability to look after children, I'm talking about your emotions toward Iris and not seeing her all day."

Lucifer's eyebrows knitted together some, and instead of deflection like Linda assumed he would use, she saw hints of shame. 

"Honestly...I'm not sure what I felt." He began, his voice lowered with emotion. 

Linda leaned her head to the side, encouraging him to continue. 

"I, ah, the detective held her for a long time, telling her that she loves her, to be good, and she'd see her this afternoon. It seemed...quite difficult for the detective to hand Iris off. As for me...I thought that, most likely, Amenadiel wasn't going to do anything formidable, so I knew I would be seeing her after work - a place I love being -, so I'm not quite sure what all the hoopla is about leaving your child for the first time? I mean...I seemed to do just fine today!"

Linda took a deep breath and analyzed his words. "So, you didn't say anything to Iris before you left today?"

"No!" He answered rather quickly. "I held her and said goodbye. Not really sure what else would be appropriate to say to a child of two months."

Linda knew from personal experience and those of colleagues and friends that leaving a child for the first time was no easy task. He's avoiding something. 

"Are you saying that you don't miss Iris at all?" Linda asked. 

Lucifer laughed, "What? Of course I do!"

Linda didn't give him much time to continue, "Because the way you're describing your feelings to me sounds like you're actually cutting yourself off from feeling all of the intense and sometimes unpleasant emotions that come with having a child."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes, "What're you saying, Doctor?"

Linda took a deep breath and replied, "I think you're scared of what loving Iris means, vulnerability wise, and of what she thinks of you, two months old or not."

As she suspected, Lucifer began cracking up again, giving her his speech about how he doesn't care what others think about him, even though Linda knew that was among the biggest lies that he told himself. 

"You're scared that she'll grow up thinking that her father abandoned her for police work, running a night club, or any other job you take on. Similar to the way you believe your own father abandoned you. You're worried she'll spend her entire life wondering what she did that made you choose everything else but her."

She could see Lucifer breathing faster and an array of emotions flew through his eyes: anger, hurt, retaliation, despair, and worry.

Linda's voice dropped to just above a whisper, "But that's not true, Lucifer. You and Chloe both have told me so much about your lives with Iris now, and I think you both are happier than you've ever been because you have each other and you have Iris, and Iris loves you both very much. As long as you believe in your ability to be a great father, partner, and man, like you've always wanted to be, it will happen for you Lucifer, and you don't have to worry about Iris...well...pulling a _you_."

He gave a small laugh through his nose at the shared mental image of Iris rebelling in one way or another. 

"So you're saying that I don't need to be a stay-at-home dad to be the father mine and the detective's child deserves? I can just...be myself?"

Linda smiled with relief and joy. "Exactly."

He got that look on his face like an idea was forming in his brain and he stood up slowly. 

He smiled politely at Linda, reached for the door handle, and left with his signature, "Thank you, Doctor."

As soon as the door clicked closed, Linda sighed. This was a good session, one that she felt progress had been made in, perhaps even a break-through, but knowing Lucifer, he was about to go off and do the exact opposite of what she intended. 

Oh well, he would learn eventually. Even though he consistently takes the hard route, he always learns. 

***

A few blocks away, Amenadiel was learning that taking care of a toddler and an infant was no easy task. For a brief moment, he thought that following Lucifer around, thinking that taking care of him was his test from Father, was easier than this. 

Iris wailed constantly, either wanting to be fed, changed, or crying just for the sake of crying. She wouldn't calm down for anything, not even the toys or blankets that Chloe claimed were her favorite. He was beginning to see the similarities between her and his brother now, constantly whining about something.

Eventually, he realized that Iris was a huge fan of snuggling. Did Amenadiel mind lounging on the couch while his small niece napped on his chest? No! Did Charlie mind though? Yes.

The toddler didn't seem to like his father's attention being divided, and as soon as Amenadiel succeeded in getting Iris to calm down, Charlie would want to play or be noisy, or do something that would wake Iris up and commence the screaming once again. 

How do people raise multiple children by themselves? Or raise an amount of children that out number the parents? It seemed an impossible task to Amenadiel that should be taken on and seen with honor. Perhaps he should try to speak with Father about making an exception for any hard-working, good, single parents to be alleviated from any guilt that would drag them down to Hell. Anybody who dealt with this everyday definitely deserved an eternity of paradise!

Thankfully, nap time for both Charlie and Iris rolled around after hours of trying to balance both of their moods. Amenadiel, trying to include Charlie to perhaps ease his attention-needs, asked if the boy wanted to help put Iris down for her nap. Charlie beamed and jumped with excitement at the chance to help his dad with something.

"Okay okay," Amenadiel whispered as he patted Iris's back post-feeding. "But we need to be quiet, okay? What do we do when babies are sleeping?"

Charlie spoke in the best whisper he could, "Whispa."

Amenadiel smiled and whispered in reply, "Whisper, right!"

Charlie put a finger to his lips and made a shushing noise. 

Amenadiel strode over to the pack-and-play. He picked Iris up off his shoulder, and smiled at her as she yawned a big toothless yawn. He kissed his niece's forehead and then, supporting her neck and back, brought her down to Charlie's height. 

"Wanna give her a kiss goodnight?" Amenadiel asked gently. 

Charlie leaned closer to his cousin and Amenadiel reminded him, "Be gentle,"

Charlie pecked a soft kiss on Iris's forehead and whispered, "Night-night Cousin Wissy."

Amenadiel chuckled as he laid Iris gently on the bed, ensuring that she was surrounded by her favorite toys and warmth. 

"Did you call her Rissy?" Amenadiel asked, possibly correcting his son. Charlie had been struggling with saying a few phonemes, particularly 'r', but Linda assured him that these harder sounds would come with time. 

Charlie nodded with a proud smile, standing on his tip-toes to look into the pack-and-play.

Amenadiel chuckled, "I like it! Rissy..."

Iris's eyes fluttered closed quickly and Amenadiel knelt down to Charlie's height. 

"Okay, now that she's asleep," He whispered, "It's time for you to take your nap."

Charlie started to whine, but Amenadiel skillfully diffused the situation, "When you wake up, Rissy should be up to, and then we can play some more."

Charlie seemed to accept that logic and let Amenadiel pick him up and carry him to his room. 

After Charlie went down, Amenadiel settled himself on the couch (where he could keep an eye on Rissy) with a snack and a new book from the library.

From his research, apparently this saga used to be very popular among the adolescent humans. It seemed intriguing with its romance, suspense, mystery, thrill, and supernatural element. Amenadiel could possibly see how a teenage human girl falling in love a vampire boy would entertain the young masses, though he saw many complications with this fictional affair. In addition to that, he's not sure how twilight, it's namesake, fits into this story yet, but he's only on chapter three. 


	7. The Devil Doesn't Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The devil doesn't sleep, but it's not because he's out doing anything nefarious. Iris has hit the dreaded four-month sleep regression, and it is really taking a toll on her parents. Chloe and Lucifer have a fight that leads to some much needed communication, and a little private time for the new parents.

Cries came from the baby monitor around three o'clock in the morning. 

"I swear to Dad, if she's awake again, I'm giving her whiskey." Lucifer groaned, turning back over in bed. 

Chloe begrudgingly picked her head up to look at the video on the monitor, squinting through her tired and heavy eyelids. 

"Please don't do that," She deadpanned, though her voice sounded much more hoarse than normal. 

"How many times have we talked about this?" She asked. 

Lucifer sighed in annoyance and sarcastically replied, "Spawn cannot have alcohol for many reasons, the first of them being that it is illegal...I'm too bloody tired to go over the rest."

Chloe had deduced a few days ago that Iris is going through (and Mom and Dad are suffering from) four-month sleep regression, where her brain is developing greater, thus her sleep cycle is not following the normal pattern. She still sleeps, but it's not as deep, and not as long as it should be. For the past seven days, every night, Iris would be asleep for an average of forty-five minutes at a time before she would want to be up and hungry or wanting to play again. 

This sleep regression has caused both Chloe and Lucifer to get much less sleep than they are used to because one of them would need to get up, go to the nursery, and try to get Iris to go back to sleep, which is not easy if she doesn't think she's tired. 

They are going through coffee and other caffeinated beverages this week faster than they ever have, and both are noticing that their moods at work are not the best, which leads to more arguments between them, and less cases being solved. 

Trixie didn't have much of a problem with sleep regression, and according to Linda, neither did Charlie, so this challenge with Iris is completely new to Chloe. Although, from some of the research she's done on sleep regression, she's learned that it might be the gateway to other milestones, like teething, breaking out of the swaddle, rolling over, and/or a growth spurt. On the other hand, the websites said that it could also be her wanting more affection, an unfavorable sleep environment, or a lack of daytime stimulations. Chloe and Lucifer both could handle it if the problem is the first option, and Iris just wants more cuddle time, that's not a big deal. She doesn't think it's the second option; Iris's nursery is amazing, and her crib was not cheap by any means, so it should be very comfortable. The third option Chloe has been looking into recently; she might have to get Iris new toys to help stimulate more of her senses and her growing brain, and perhaps have Amenadiel get her to play with those toys more when she's with him during the day, though Chloe realizes that might be difficult for him with Charlie running around. 

Lucifer had gotten up to calm her down about an hour ago, so Chloe knew it was her turn to go convince the baby to go back to sleep. 

***

The next day was Sunday, so Chloe (and Lucifer by default) had the day off. They typically use Sundays to catch up around the house, and this weekend, Trixie was with Dan, so that allowed for even more attention to be paid to the penthouse.

At the moment, Lucifer was in the kitchen, washing dishes, baby bottles, etc. while Chloe folded and put away laundry. Iris was hanging out in her swing, completely fascinated by some colorful circles and tiny stuffed animals hanging from the top of it. 

All of a sudden, Lucifer felt the strangest sensation. He shivered. It was freezing in the penthouse! Now, normally, he was numb to temperature, seeing as he's used to the worse than sweltering heat of Hell. Los Angeles is like an ice box compared to that place, which was always a welcomed change. Temperatures on Earth normally didn't effect him, but he's living with the detective now, so she throws all supernatural logic out the window. 

"Bloody hell it's cold," He mumbled, rubbing his biceps for warmth as he walked over to the thermostat, abandoning the dishes still in the sink. 

Lucifer took one look at the thermostat and blinked dramatically. When the number still didn't change, he rubbed at his eyes, hoping to clear them if something was stuck in his eyeballs that was preventing him from seeing properly. 

Nope. That didn't work either. 

"Ah, Detective?" Lucifer called out. 

"What?" She answered. 

"Why is the temperature in here sixty-six degrees?" He asked. 

"Oh," Chloe answered without a care, "I changed it. I was hot."

" _What?_ " Lucifer nearly shrieked. He stormed back into the main room, where the detective was still folding laundry. 

"What do you mean you were hot? The penthouse is never hot!" He demanded to know. 

Chloe narrowed her eyes at him, not a fan of his yelling. 

"If you must know," She said lowly and a bit dangerously, "my body is all out of whack right now because of my hormones. They haven't returned to normal and probably won't until I finish breastfeeding. That comes with hot flashes, so I turned the temperature down. Oh, and by the way, the penthouse is _always_ hot."

Lucifer straightened up and stared at her bewilderedly. 

"It is not!" He argued. "I always keep it at seventy-four degrees, that's normal! You don't want to freeze the offspring do you?"

Chloe threw the shirt she was folding down on the couch. 

"Everything I do is for the baby! I'm the one who feeds her, gets her ready in the morning, and changes the most diapers!" Chloe yelled. 

To defend himself, Lucifer yelled back, "So? I do just as much for her. I volunteer to get up in the night more. I provide the most for this family. I do whatever you girls ask of me, and I ask for nothing in return _for once_. I've put my own desires aside for you. We haven't had sex in months because the spawn always need something! And don't say that I don't feed her! I know how to warm up a bottle. We could feed her equally, but _noooo_ , you had to go the natural way!"

Chloe scoffed and began pointing an angry finger at Lucifer, "That was uncalled for! You totally supported me when I said that I wanted to breastfeed, and since I'm the only one who can feed her that way, it is not your call on how our daughter is fed as long as she is being fed. You know what?" Chloe stood up from the couch and looked at the floor, her expression exhausted and irritated. "I can't talk to you when you're like this. When you get tired, you make no sense and you say awful things."

With that, she picked Iris up out of her swing, and stormed off toward the nursery, shutting the door loudly behind her. 

Lucifer groaned and yelled, tearing his fingers through his hair. If he hadn't been so bloody tired, he wouldn't have said all those things. He definitely regretted them now, and he knew he had been wrong and unfair to Chloe, but he can't help her if she won't let him help. Don't his needs need to be heard as well? Or does he not count since he doesn't have female reproductive organs?

***

A few hours later, after the sun had gone down, Chloe emerged from the nursery. She found Lucifer out on the balcony, his hair completely mussed. He had changed out of his clothes and now only wore his red robe and shorts. 

Chloe quietly snuck out onto the balcony to join him. She fidgeted with her fingers, but forced herself through the awkwardness and apprehension. She knew that she should apologize to him for being short-tempered, even though he was out of line too. After Chloe had a few hours to think, it allowed her to cool off and really think back on their argument. Despite the nastier things he said, there was one part about alone time that stuck out to her as being absolutely right. 

"Hey," She said, strolling up next to him. He glanced to his left, where she was, and gave her a small, sad smile. 

"Hello," He greeted. 

"Lucifer I'm-"

"Detective I-"

They spoke at exactly the same time and then laughed when they were both cut off. 

"Sorry, you first." She offered. 

"No no, I insist, you go." He replied, gesturing with an open palm toward her. 

"Okay," Chloe breathed. Always the gentleman, this one. She still played with her fingers a bit, but Chloe took a deep breath, mustered up her courage, and said what was on her mind. 

"I'm sorry, for being so harsh earlier. It's just...I'm," She sighed, suddenly struggling for words. Lucifer just looked at her patiently, giving her the time and space to say what she needed to say, and Chloe really appreciated that. She couldn't help but truly notice, though, the large dark rings under his eyes and how bloodshot his eyes were. He seemed so exhausted, and Chloe wondered if her eyes looked the exact same way.

"This is _so_ challenging, but I shouldn't have lost my temper." She finished. 

Lucifer dropped his head slightly as he leaned against the railing, his shoulders extremely tense, and his jaw tight. Chloe gently brought her hand to his back and began to gently rub out the tension. At first, she felt the incredible softness of the silk robe, but that sensation faded quickly as she focused on the hard, tense muscles of his back.

"I need to apologize too," He began, "what I said wasn't fair, and I shouldn't have said it."

Chloe nodded while she continued to rub, "Yeah. Some of that stung, but...you're entitled to your feelings." Using that, she segued into what was really on her mind, "Do you feel like I'm ignoring you? Or like I'm not giving you enough attention?"

Lucifer turned his head and looked at her. He frowned deeply, creating creases in his face that made him look much more exhausted, but then he asked, "Where did you get an idea like that?"

Chloe timidly answered, "When you went on that tirade earlier. The one about how you provide for us and we don't have sex anymore."

"Oh," Lucifer said glumly as he turned his face away in shame and took a deep breath. "That was..." He began until Chloe interrupted him again. 

"Right."

He looked back at her, his eyebrows furrowed. 

Chloe continued, "You were right about that part. You have done so much for our family, gone above and beyond for everything Iris and I...even Trixie need. You're an amazing dad, and I don't think I tell you that enough."

The furrowing subsided just a bit, and he asked softly, "Really?"

Chloe smiled gently, nodded, and replied confidently, "Really."

Lucifer smiled back, but then he squeezed his eyes shut, turned his head away from her, and dropped it back down between his arms. 

"Ugh, I'm just... _I'm so tired, Detective_." He admitted. 

Chloe rubbed him more comfortingly and said, "I know. Believe me, I know. This is so rough."

"I thought that time I decided never to sleep again was horrible but this? This exhaustion is even worse."

Chloe nodded in understanding and continued for him, "Because you're feeling so much more than you did last time you were sleep deprived."

He just let out a long exhale and didn't reply, so Chloe continued, "If I'm remembering right, you said when you didn't sleep for over a week, it was because your dad was manipulating you or something?"

Back then, Chloe didn't know the truth, and the particular topic of that stunt hadn't been brought up in the years since, but looking back on it, Chloe had tried to piece together what all of that might have been about, especially now that she knows the truth. 

"Your dad did something with your wings, and you were upset about me and Pierce, but now you're being pulled in so many different directions and trying to be your best in all of them, but you're not getting any rest, so I can see why you're so overwhelmed."

She felt him relax under her touch and she knew she hit the bullseye. 

There was a quiet moment between them before Chloe asked, "Can I be honest with you?"

Lucifer picked his head up and straightened up now, prepared to be a crutch for her to lean on, if need be, like she just was for him. "Of course you can." Lucifer said genuinely, almost like his tone that time when he was telling her that, despite his vulnerability, he'd jump in front of an axe again and again if that's what it took to keep her safe. 

Chloe took a deep breath and then let her emotions and insecurities be vulnerable. "Believe me, even though we've been so busy, I've noticed that we've been putting... _certain things_ on the proverbial back burner."

By that, she meant their time...sex. Lucifer seemed to understand what she meant. 

"I...still don't really feel like my old self yet, since giving birth I mean. Honestly, um..." Chloe bit her bottom lip before forcing herself to keep going, "I um, I'm worried about what you'll think...that you won't be turned on by...uh..."

She gestured to her body and looked away from him. 

This time, she heard Lucifer scoff before he grabbed her shoulders. He wasn't being aggressive, but he was firmly and lovingly grabbing her attention. 

"Detective," He said like she had just said something absurd. She still wouldn't look at him though because, even though she knew she was being silly, this was her own insecurity clouding her judgement, and her hormones running the show where her love for and confidence in Lucifer should have been. 

"Chloe," At the sound of him persistently saying her name, she looked up at him through the tears that were clouding her vision and stinging her eyes. 

Lucifer let out another deep breath and smiled adoringly at her and ran his fingers gently down one side of her face. 

"There is no form that you could take that I wouldn't be passionately, swelteringly, turned on by you, my love."

Chloe snorted at how stupid that sounded, but it made her feel better none the less. 

His expression became concerned as he said, "It bothers me that you think of yourself that way. Your body has done so many tremendous, beautiful, and difficult things in the last year alone. You made our daughter inside of you. I mean, I'm pretty sure I fell in love with your soul...your being, but I have always adored your body too, you know this."

Those stupid tears gave Chloe away as they streamed down her face. His words made her feel incredibly better and more confident in herself. Even though sometimes they fight, no matter what, their core partnership always seems to pull through for them. If one is weak, the other will be strong and lift them up, on and on forever. 

"If you want," Lucifer's voice dropped into a deeper, sultry tone, and he looked at her seductively, "I can show you exactly how I would make you and your body feel like the goddess you are."

He leaned in close and Chloe felt her heart rate increase in a familiar rhythm that it hadn't taken in too long of a time. The tension built and built between them, both embracing the long awaited heat and undivided attention of their respective partner...

Until Iris began crying again. 

Lucifer dropped his head onto Chloe's shoulder and growled, "Bloody hell!"

Chloe let out a small whimpering noise of defeat. Maybe this was some kind of warning that she and Lucifer shouldn't have sex anymore. Just look at the last time they had sex when her body was unoccupied. There was no way they could handle another Iris right now. 

"I always used to think whoever coined the term 'the devil doesn't sleep' was a blithering imbecile, but I would never have, in a million years, ever believed them to be right."

Chloe chuckled and joked, "Just, instead of tempting people, stealing souls, and doing evil, you're trying to get a four month-old back to sleep."

He chuckled too and replied, "Not that I've had an interest in _any_ of those things before! Well...except maybe the first one."

Chloe smiled and together they trudged back into the penthouse to put Iris back to sleep...again.

***

Chloe and Lucifer crawled into bed a few minutes later, planning on catching as much sleep as they could before Iris decides she's not tired anymore. Just as they each settled and got comfortable, Lucifer spoke up. 

"Detective?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's go out this weekend." He stated happily. 

Chloe turned over so that she was facing him. "What?"

He turned to face her as well and explained, "I think we should go out sometime this weekend, just the two of us. An adults-only night, if you will."

Chloe beamed, but then her smile faded, "I don't know Lucifer. What if something with work comes up, and we need to find a sitter, and-"

Lucifer gently touched her shoulder and called her back into the present moment. 

"Darling, we can't focus on all of those maybes. We have plenty of friends who I'm sure would be happy to help us out for one night, and we need to spend some alone time together, we both agreed on that. Plus, your human medical professionals urge us to take care of ourselves too." He implored. 

Chloe definitely could not argue with him there. 

"So what do you suggest we do?" She asked. 

Lucifer smirked and said, "Let me take you on a date, say...Friday evening. I'll send out a help-wanted text to our friends and see if anyone would be willing to take in Little Bullet for the night...and maybe even the morning. You and I can get all dressed up, go to a fancy restaurant, and then we can either come back here or we can get a hotel room for the night and do whatever it is we desire."

He sounded so sure, and Chloe wanted this plan to work so badly, she decided not to fight it. 

"Okay," She sighed happily, snuggling into his chest. "That sounds very nice."

***

Friday came faster than they could have imagined. 

Maze volunteered to spend the night at the penthouse and babysit Iris. Chloe, of course, double checked that Maze knew exactly where everything was, how to use it, not to give Iris alcohol, and that she knew all of the emergency numbers. 

Lucifer just about had to drag Chloe to the elevator. 

He brought her to a upscale steak restaurant where they ordered whatever they wanted for food and drink, took their time, and talked about anything and everything that was on their mind. They caught themselves talking about the baby quite a bit, so halfway through the meal, they made a deal that there would be no more baby-related talk for the rest of the night. 

The evening was spectacular, magical even. They were both out, dressed up, and taking advantage of some much needed self-care. 

Once they arrived at the five-star hotel room Lucifer reserved for the night, first, Chloe lightly reprimanded him for booking such an expensive place, but she quickly got over that and locked herself in the bathroom to freshen up. 

When she emerged, fresh and powdered, she found Lucifer waiting patiently for her next to the king-sized bed. He had already shed his shoes, belt, and jacket. The top two buttons of his shirt were already undone. 

"Are we finally going to get to do this?" Chloe asked with a wide grin. 

"Oh don't jinx it Detective!" Lucifer groaned, but he smiled too. 

Without any further adieu, each locked the other in an embrace, locking fingers in hair and behind necks. They wasted no time in a slow build up or asking permission. It went without much more saying how much they both wanted this. The nice outfits were shed and discarded quickly. Only one reminder made Chloe stop before things went too far. 

"Wait wait!" She said breathlessly as she straddled on top of Lucifer. 

He groaned impatiently and asked, "What?"

Chloe drove her pointer finger sternly into his sternum and demanded, "Condom. No buts this time."

Lucifer smirked and opened up the night table drawer beside them. He reached in and pulled out a Trojan. "We are more than covered, I made sure of it."

Chloe smiled and replied, "Good. You're never going to fool me with that immortality bullshit ever again."

They laughed and not much later, Lucifer turned out the lights so that he could show the love of his life how beautiful he thinks she is and how much he loves her. 


	8. Compromising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris hits a huge milestone, but a near-accident makes Chloe and Lucifer reconsider their current situation.

Another four months came and went. Iris grew everyday, as well as the family's bond. They were able to come up with a schedule that didn't deter anyone's jobs, but still allowed enough time for Chloe and Lucifer to still be a happy couple, as well as great parents. None of this would've been possible without the help and support of their friends, though. 

In the last few months, Iris began smiling more and more, proving Lucifer's point to Chloe. Now, it seemed, their sweet baby girl smiled at _everything_ , especially when her parents and sister talked to and played with her. 

It was during one of those play sessions with Trixie that Iris learned something new. She had been working on strengthening her limbs over the last few weeks, since discovering that she could roll over on her own. She also figured out that she can push herself up onto all fours, but she didn't do much else besides plop back down and scoot all over her designated play-area. 

Her sister recognized her progress and had been spending much of her time at the penthouse trying to teach her baby sister how to crawl. 

"It's easy, watch me," She would say and then commence stepping forward with one arm and the opposite knee repeatedly. Iris watched Trixie and laughed as her sister moved farther and farther away, but Iris seemed content to just scoot on her belly and reach for toys. 

Then one day, Trixie had gotten up from among the hoard of baby toys to answer a text. 

She glanced away from the baby for maybe thirty seconds to text her friend back. When Trixie looked back to the play mat, after the battery-operated baby toys had gone quiet, her heart stopped. Iris wasn't there.

 _Where is she? I turned my head for not even a minute!_ Trixie thought in a panic. She hurriedly looked around, thinking that Iris couldn't have gone far (and that her mom was going to kill her) when she heard her sister coo, and it was closer than she would have expected. 

Trixie looked down, her eyebrows furrowed, but then she shrieked with excitement.

"Ah!" Lucifer grimaced, putting a hand on his ear. He and Chloe were at the bar watching security tapes from a crime scene. "Urchin, what the bloody hell was that?"

Trixie looked up at them, completely beaming, as she pointed to her shoes. 

"Iris just crawled to me!" She squealed. 

Chloe seemed confused, but she came over anyway. 

Sure enough, the baby had taken to playing with her big sister's shoe laces, similar to how a cat would. 

"I left her on the play mat while I came over here for, not even, thirty seconds, and then she was right here! Watch-"

Chloe didn't seem convinced of Trixie's story. Iris didn't seem all that ready to crawl yet, but maybe she was wrong. It seemed Lucifer's curiosity was piqued as well because he followed Chloe over to Trixie's experiment. 

Trixie lifted her sister off the floor and brought her back over to the play mat. She jogged a few feet away from Iris and crouched on the floor with her arms out in front of her. 

"Okay! Come here Iris! Crawl to Sissy!" Trixie spoke to the baby like someone would to a puppy. It worked though. It took a moment, but Iris put one pudgy hand in front of the other and slowly made her way over to Trixie, smiling and drooling the whole time. Chloe folded her hands in front of her brightly smiling face. 

"Oh my gosh!" She said, crouching down next to Trixie and joined in on encouraging Iris's big step (or crawl). They did this for the next several minutes.

Lucifer was beaming as well, but it also caused a strange pang of hurt in his chest. Normally this happened when he and the detective went through something, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the baby crawling this time. Regardless of how foolish the women were acting, he couldn't seem to turn his gaze away. This was his child's first huge moment in her out-of-womb development; it means that his Little Bullet is growing up. She's not an infant anymore. She can move all on her own. Even through the sadness, he couldn't help but be so so proud of her. 

***

The detective had insisted on baby-proofing the entire penthouse that evening. She was like a mad woman, running around the penthouse, covering up light sockets with plastic, attaching coverings to door handles, and moving all of Lucifer's furniture and decorations to all the wrong places. 

"Detective! Stop, what're you doing?" He said, taking a vase from the Renaissance Era out of her hands and placing it back where it belonged. 

Chloe glared at him and pointed to the vase. "If Iris crawls or bumps into that table, that vase is going to fall over and seriously hurt her! Do you want that?"

Lucifer couldn't argue with that, so he gave up and let the detective ruin his penthouse more than she and the offspring already have. 

In her insane rush, she shouted and muttered multiple times that, "This place is not built for children! It's a death trap!"

Lucifer just sat at the bar with a glass of scotch as he watched Iris swing in her rocker next to him. He would shake his head at the baby in disbelief and roll his eyes while Chloe would yell things, then he would mutter, "No shit Detective."

When he moved into his penthouse, he hadn't imagined children ever living there in _any_ scenario.

***

One week after Iris learned how to crawl, Lucifer had to take a business call, so he sat out on his balcony to have some peace and quiet. He knew the call wouldn't take all that long, so when the glass door didn't close all the way behind him, he wasn't all that concerned about closing it completely. 

His call was almost finished when he heard the detective's terrified shriek. 

"Lucifer! The baby!" 

Her voice was distraught, and for a fleeting moment, Lucifer thought someone had broken into the penthouse and was stealing his daughter. He whipped around, his eyes flashing red for the briefest moment, and his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. His breath hitched when he realized that the situation was slightly worse than he had thought. 

Iris found the slightly opened door and crawled herself out onto the balcony, an open space thousands of feet above the bustling streets of Los Angeles, with openings large enough for a small child to possibly fit through. 

Lucifer threw his phone down to the floor, letting the human on the other end babble, as he scooped up his daughter, scolding, "Nope! Not a good idea, child. Here,"

He handed Iris off to her mother on the other side of the door. Chloe hugged Iris against her, reprimanding her with a scared, "Don't do that! That's so dangerous!"

But she knew, as well as Lucifer, that it wasn't Iris's fault, she's just a baby. It's Lucifer's fault for leaving the door open. 

"Well, ah," Lucifer chuckled, "At least she's not flying." He smiled at her with the cheekiest grin he could muster. He realized that that was perhaps the wrong thing to say at that moment when Chloe glared at him with murder in her eyes as she turned back into the penthouse. 

Lucifer finished his call outside and then timidly made his way back into the penthouse for his scolding. Chloe had just finished putting Iris down for a nap, but she came into the room with her arms crossed and a stormy expression on her face. 

"Detective, before you start yelling, I know what I did was wrong, and that I should have fully closed the door. I'm sorry." Lucifer pleaded. 

Chloe took a deep breath and looked momentarily at the floor before saying rather calmly, "I'm not mad. Well...maybe I was a little, but it's more just...heart palpitations now." She put a hand over her heart, indicating that it was still beating too quickly. Her face seemed paler than normal as well.

"I think that was just inevitable."

Lucifer didn't know what she meant like that, but she was staring at the balcony door like it was her sworn enemy. 

"Okay," Lucifer sighed. "We can get more locks for the doors. Better ones for the balcony! We can, I don't know, hire a professional to baby-proof this place. We'll do whatever we have to to keep Iris safe, like we always do."

Chloe sighed and looked around the penthouse, her arms returning to their crossed position in front of her chest. 

"I don't think there's much more we can do, Lucifer." She paused for a moment before continuing, "I think it's time we moved out."

Lucifer's face fell and his heart felt like it had dropped into his stomach. Was she threatening to take Iris away from him? It was one mistake! Surely, she couldn't be this angry with him over this one mishap! 

He sputtered trying to come up with a coherent argument that would get them to stay, but his mind was racing. 

Chloe got in her next words before Lucifer could speak. "I mean, the plan never was to live in the penthouse, and this was only a temporary fix to the angel problem, but that's done now."

Lucifer stopped trying to speak. _What was she getting at?_

"We've been putting off moving back into the apartment since Iris was born, but we're not as busy now, so I think it's time for the four of us to move back home."

Lucifer sighed with relief. The detective wasn't taking their child away from him. They were moving _as a family_ to a more child-friendly location. 

"Okay Detective." Lucifer answered with relieved approval. 

***

The family had spent the weekend packing up the penthouse and rented a U-Haul van to move all of their necessary belongings back to Chloe's apartment. The process went by much quicker when Amenadiel, Dan, and Maze offered to pitch in. Linda and Ella stopped by too, but they made themselves honorary babysitters. 

"Don't worry about the baby, we'll keep an eye on her," Ella assured Chloe when she got there. 

Once they were all moved (back) in, they met with Maze and the landlord to officially take Maze's name off the lease and replace it with Lucifer's. Maze had been saving up her bounty checks for a ritzy loft in the heart of the city, a place she told Chloe and Lucifer she was going to have "So. Much. Fun". Given that it's Maze, that description could be taken hundreds of ways that the more innocent of people just wouldn't be able to fathom. 

All was perfect, at least for a little while. 

Now that they were in much closer quarters with a fourth person added to the space, moving around and having privacy was a much more difficult task. Lucifer struggled with living so closely with multiple people faster than Chloe or Trixie did, but eventually they too took any excuse they could to get out of the apartment for a few hours or more. 

Chloe couldn't help but wonder (as she tucked Iris into bed one night) if Lucifer's apparent claustrophobia came from traumatic memories of Hell. From what he described to her, everything down there was packed in tightly and he never got much of a free moment to himself. That made the design of his penthouse make more sense to Chloe; it was airy, spacious, and full of light, with maybe one or two doors in the entire penthouse. For the most part, he lived alone, his only company used to be complete strangers that stayed only temporarily. Now, she supposed, he was back to being trapped in one space with people who didn't come and go as they pleased. 

After the girls went to bed one night a few days later, Lucifer had poured him and Chloe glasses of wine to unwind after a long day. Chloe took hers gratefully, letting him know that she would pump before bed, as she planned to breastfeed Iris for about four more months before weening her off. They sat on the couch, not saying much, but just leaning against each other. They didn't get much quiet time with just the two of them lately. 

"I hope you don't kill me for bringing this up," Chloe said hesitantly, "but I think we need to move again."

Lucifer chuckled and replied, "Oh thank Dad, I thought you'd never go for that idea!"

Chloe sat up and considered him hopefully, "Really? You think we should look into it?"

Lucifer sat up as well and replied, "Absolutely! I mean, this place has been your home for years, it's much safer for the baby, and closer to the urchin's school, _that_ I understand, but I think it's just a tad small for the four of us."

That was putting it lightly.

"I can pull up pictures of my other properties in the city, or you and I can take a drive to each of them. There is plenty of space in all of those. All you have to do is pick your favorite."

Chloe looked around the apartment with a twinge of sadness, and she hesitated before suggesting, "Maybe we could look into buying a house? That way we could put more of what we each want on a wish-list, and there'd be enough space for two kids to run around in."

"That sounds brilliant, Detective."

Chloe smiled at him while he smiled at her over his wine glass. When he had finished sipping, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his, setting her own wine glass down, and running her hands up and down his silk shirt.

***

It took the pair two long months, lots of touring, debating, and (Lucifer) making deals with agents and owners, but finally, just as summer started, the Decker-Espinoza-Morningstar Family moved into their first house, not an apartment nor a penthouse, but an actual house. 

They had begun looking in the spring, which was commonly the best time for house hunting. 

The house they found was in more of a suburban area than the city, but it was still in Trixie's school district, and had everything they were looking for, thanks to Lucifer's top-of-the-line real-estate agent engaging in some extra digging and haggling for them. 

Their home consisted of three thousand square feet, four-bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. Both the inside and outside included modern yet elegant and tasteful architecture. The spacious backyard was Trixie's favorite part; there was already a swimming pool built in, a large concrete deck for outdoor parties, a hot tub, and still enough grassy area to play in.

Upstairs, the girls could have their own bedrooms, though they had to share a bathroom. There's also an extra bedroom for guests at one end of the hall, in between what would become Trixie's bedroom and Chloe's and Lucifer's bedroom. Iris's room was on the north end, in what seemed to be more of a loft-style room. On the south end was a magnificent master bedroom with a spa-like accompanying bathroom. 

The main floor of the house came with a modern, white and gray kitchen with enough space for hosting, a grand living space, small office area, a den that would probably be converted into Iris's playroom, the largest laundry room Chloe had ever owned, and plenty of storage space. Built onto the side of the house was a three -car garage. 

Obviously, much compromising needed to be done, from décor preference differences, to the amount of cars in the garage and driveway, but what really mattered at the end of the day was that there family had a space perfect for them and that their girls were happy. It wasn't the style that made a house a home; it's the people living in it. Even so, many arguments sparked that summer over whether to go with simpler and inexpensive paints, furniture, and decorations, or a lavish, modern, and high-end style befitting a more upper-class Los Angeles lifestyle.

Though, if you asked Trixie, her favorite argument she'd ever eavesdropped on her mom and step-dad having happened one night after they had finally figured out what they wanted to do with the living room. 

Oh and yes, Trixie had begun officially calling Lucifer her step-dad, even though he seemed to hate the term. First of all, he is her baby sister's father. Second of all, he is the love of her mom's life and makes all of them unbelievably happy, just as much as Trixie hopes they make him. Third of all, the big softy, push-over of a devil came to her eighth grade graduation in May, made a huge scene with balloons in her honor, and threw her a party. Obviously, her own parents had been planning on doing something for her, but she had a feeling that Lucifer took whatever plan her mom and dad had and multiplied it times a thousand. He made her feel unbelievably special, and she appreciated it. 

Anyway, Trixie had her bedroom door open that night while she put some decorations on her freshly painted purple walls. The living room was just below the hallway balcony outside of her room, so Trixie could hear every word said in there. 

"This stupid nail won't stick in the wall!" Chloe complained. 

"Honestly, Detective. You just have to pound it into the wall with the hammer!" 

Trixie covered her mouth to stifle her barking laugh. Even though she wasn't watching them, she could just picture her mom giving Lucifer a death glare. 

"I'll pound you into the wall." Chloe muttered darkly. 

Trixie's mouth dropped open and she had to shove her face into a pillow from laughing so hard and wheezing; she didn't want anyone to hear her.

"Ooh," She heard Lucifer purr, "is that a promise?"

 _Best. Family. Ever._ Trixie thought. 


	9. Fevers and Self-Actualization Queries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris wakes up in the morning with a fever. Chloe calls Linda and the two make predictions about their children.

Chloe woke up on a balmy August morning to Iris moaning and crying on the baby monitor. She rolled over, her eyelids still heavy with sleep, but she realized that Lucifer wasn't beside her. 

She got up to take care of Iris first, then she would track down the rest of her family. 

As she crossed the hallway (the floors finished with a dark hard-wood, and the walls painted light gray and decorated with some art work from Lucifer's collection) Chloe could hear the sound of pans against counter-top and Trixie bantering about something. Well, at least she knew where they were now and that breakfast would be waiting for her.

Gently, Chloe opened the white door to the nursery, smiling as she entered. The nursery was still bathed in darkness from the drawn pink drapes. Neither she nor Lucifer wanted to change it much from the nursery he created at the penthouse, so they kept the same colors and just rearranged the furniture to fit the new room. They ordered a wall sticker to hang over the crib on the only pink wall. In black, cursive letters, it read: Iris Melody.

Iris picked her head up as the door opened and made cooing noises. As her mom came closer, she pulled herself to her feet using the bars of her crib.

"Hi baby," Chloe whispered. "Good morning! Sleep well?" She asked as she lowered the gate of the crib.

Iris's face scrunched up and she started crying before Chloe even picked her up. Chloe thought that was odd. Iris wasn't normally this unhappy in the morning unless somebody woke her up earlier than she wanted. 

"Did Daddy and Sissy wake you up?" Chloe wondered. They knew they were supposed to be quiet if either of them got up early. 

Iris cried harder, but then she did something she's never done before. She rubbed the back of her tiny pudgy hands over her eyes and nose, rubbing them as best her little muscles could do as if they were bothering her. 

"Hmm. Come here sweetie." Chloe muttered, picking Iris up out of the crib and holding her close. Iris clung onto Chloe while she still cried. As Chloe tried consoling her, she sat down on the white rocking chair in the corner and turned on the small black lamp. Now that she had better light, Chloe balanced Iris on her thigh and got a better look at her. 

Concern filled any relief and relaxation Chloe felt when she woke up this morning. Regardless of the crying and the look of pain on her daughter's face, Iris's nose was running and the tip of her nose was red. Her cheeks seemed redder than normal too and her eyes were glossy. 

Chloe gave an uncertain hum and gently pressed her hand against Iris's forehead and held it there for a moment. Her temperature seemed warm. 

"Oh no." Chloe sighed. "Shh shh, it's okay baby. Mommy's here." Chloe consoled, pressing Iris against her. She held Iris with one hand and pulled her cell phone out of her pajama pants. She typed, as quickly as she could, a text to Lucifer, asking if he could come up here.

A few minutes later, Chloe heard the sound of somebody gingerly running up the stairs. Then she heard, "Detective?" called a few times as Lucifer searched for her. 

"In here," She called. Soon enough, Lucifer had peaked his head in Iris's room. 

"What's wrong?" He asked. 

Chloe looked at Iris sadly, feeling so sorry for her, and worry evident in her tone. "I think Iris is sick. She feels like she's running a fever. Do you think we should take her to the doctor?"

Instead of coming over to form his own opinion of the situation, Lucifer stood in the doorway and laughed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his black robe. 

" _That's_ what you called me up here for?" He scoffed. 

Chloe glared at him disbelievingly. Their daughter is clearly not feeling well and he's not concerned at all? "Lucifer! Look at her! She's in pain, her nose is running, and her face is red." Chloe scolded. 

Lucifer looked at her like she was overreacting. "Detective," He said patronizingly, which made Chloe want to punch him. "Angels can't contract human illnesses. She's probably just hungry or moody or...some other mysterious issue that would cause a woman to get upset. She's fine!"

Chloe shook her head and answered a bit angrily, "Okay, you stopped being able to use the 'angels aren't affected by human things' crap when you knocked me up with this one."

She pointed to Iris and Lucifer's face paled as he shifted nervously. She knew he damn well remembered the night they conceived Iris and he assured Chloe that angels and humans had never given each other STDs and that he wouldn't be able to get her pregnant. So much that confidence did because here they were with a sick ten-month old!

Chloe sighed and returned to her worry. "But she's only _half_ angel, Lucifer! Where do we draw the line between what makes her an angel and what makes her a human?"

That seemed to resonate with Lucifer. 

"You have a point." He said under his breath, striding over to the rocking chair and kneeling next to them.

Chloe turned Iris around so that Lucifer could see her. He grimaced at how wet her face was, between the tears and nasal discharge. Even still, he gingerly pressed a hand to Iris's forehead while she fussed. 

He made an uncertain hum and Chloe worriedly asked, "See?"

"What's her normal temperature?" He asked. 

"Um, around ninety-eight I think. Same as normal. None of the doctors or nurses at her check-ups have raised any concerns about her temperature. Why?"

Lucifer sighed, "Angels normally run warmer. Different species and divinity and all that. Perhaps Little Bullet is taking more so after her human side?" He mused. 

"What do we do about this, then?" Chloe stressed. "I want to call the doctor and ask for some medicine, but because she's not all human, would the dosage be different? Will she not respond to it? I don't know!"

"Detective," Lucifer said calmly, "Take a breath. It will be alright, we'll figure it out."

She nodded and ran her hand up and down Iris's back. 

Then an idea came to her, "We should call Linda and ask her if this has ever happened to Charlie. Maybe she can give us some advice?"

"Good idea." Lucifer agreed.

Chloe stood up slowly and decided, "I'll give her a call. Can you take her into the shower and just stand under the steam for a little bit? I know that usually helps clear the sinuses when Trixie or I are sick."

Lucifer grimaced as Chloe placed the crying, sniveling, squirming baby in his hands, but he just reminded himself over and over again that she wasn't felling well, and at least he wasn't dressed yet.

"Sure," He muttered, taking the baby out of the room. 

Chloe dialed Linda's number and paced the room while the phone rang. Soon, her friend answered. 

"Hello?" Linda answered happily.

"Hey Linda, it's Chloe. Sorry to call you so early, I just have a question for you."

"Oh it's no problem. I'm getting ready to run an errand anyway. What's up?"

"Um," Chloe sighed and bit her lip. "Iris woke up sick this morning, so I asked Lucifer if he thinks I should take her to the doctor or not. It seems like it's just a cold, but I'm pretty sure she's running a fever. Anyway, he said I was crazy because apparently angels can't get sick. So, I guess I'm just wondering if Charlie's ever gotten sick before, or if I am just the crazy mom of an impossible angel-baby."

Linda chuckled a bit and paused while she considered her answer. "Yes," She said calmly, "Charlie usually catches a cold at least once a year. He's getting small things here and there more often since he started preschool, but I never thought anything of it. Amenadiel never did either. When he was a baby we would take him to the doctor, she'd prescribe medicine, and we'd be good to go."

"Okay that's...that makes me feel a lot better. Thanks Linda."

"Anytime!"

"Oh and hey, while I have you, I just thought I'd ask," Chloe peered out into the hallway to make sure Lucifer wasn't eavesdropping or coming back in. 

"Has Charlie shown any signs of being...you know...angelic yet?"

Linda made an uncertain noise and then replied, "Come to think of it, I don't think he has. I'm actually really glad you brought this up because I've never really thought about it before. I know Amenadiel has talked about him getting his wings or his abilities, but for all I know he's guessing, and he doesn't seem concerned. I'm just raising him like any other human child because that's all I know!"

Chloe nodded, "Right, right. No, I completely understand. Iris hasn't either. She gets bruises when she bumps into things, she's growing, and apparently gets sick. She doesn't have an invulnerability thing like Lucifer because the doctors are able to give her shots. I don't know what's more human than that." Chloe ticked off all of the human things Iris does on a mental checklist.

Linda continued, "And I would have thought that maybe because Amenadiel was more mortal than angel when Charlie was conceived that maybe Charlie missed that gene all together, but Iris developing the exact same way doesn't make sense. Lucifer wasn't mortal."

"But he _is_ vulnerable around me." Chloe argued.

"Vulnerable, not human. He's still very much an angel...er, devil, I guess, even when you're around."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Chloe's mind was spinning. What did all of this human-angel-genetic stuff even mean? "Linda," Chloe began, her detective mind putting together a clue-board in her mind. "You don't think that it's the self-actualization thing, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Linda asked, her curiosity clearly piqued in her tone. 

"Like," Chloe sat back down in the rocking chair, "You said that, for example, Lucifer's devil face is the result of how he feels about himself, same with the wings. It's all about how he sees himself."

"Right," Linda drawled. 

"Well, I'm wondering...what if it's the same with our kids?"

"The same?" Linda asked. 

"Yeah! What if, I don't know, maybe because they didn't grow up around angels in the Silver City or wherever, human nature is instinct to them because they're being raised around more humans? Maybe their angel side is _second_ nature and they need to see themselves more as angels than as humans in order to do whatever it was Amenadiel was talking about, getting their wings and stuff."

Linda laughed exasperatedly. "Chloe, you're a freaking genius! I don't know if that's right, but it makes a ton of sense! Sorry to cut you short but I've gotta go. I hope Iris feels better, please keep me updated!"

"I will, thanks for your help Linda!"

"Of course, and we'll talk more on this self-actualization stuff later too."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye!"

With that, they hung up. Chloe leaned back in the rocker, her mind racing with thoughts and worries about Iris growing up and having to choose what species she sees herself as. She figured her daughter was going to have a harder time growing up, being who she is and having to form her own opinion of herself given that, but Chloe never thought Iris's future would be this insane.

***

Lucifer turned the master shower on and turned the knob until the water produced a good amount of steam. He didn't want to scald his sickly Little Bullet, his own skin be damned, but hers is delicate. He stripped down to his boxer shorts and undressed Iris completely.

They stood in the steam for a while, and Iris seemed to calm down. 

"Not feeling well, are you?" Lucifer asked softly, rubbing her back. She laid her head on his shoulder, her face looking toward his neck. He could hear how much she was struggling to breathe through her plugged nose and his heart ached for her. She was only ten months old, what did she do to deserve this? "I don't know what it's like to have a human cold, but it doesn't seem pleasant. I'll make you feel better though, I promise my sweetheart."

Iris made some noises as she shifted herself on his chest. 

Lucifer began panicking when, all of a sudden, Iris started whimpering again. She tensed under him and then shivered, even though the room had to be over eighty degrees with the humidity. 

"Oh bloody-" Lucifer muttered, moving so that Iris's back was partially under the shower head. Perhaps the water would help warm her up. 

She felt warm. Actually, she was pretty hot, which Lucifer wouldn't think twice of if she was an angel, but clearly that excuse doesn't work. She was burning up for a human temperature, but she continued to shiver like she was cold. That can't be good. Guilt knotted his stomach, thinking that his first reaction to this was so nonchalant. How could he be so careless?

Lucifer turned off the water, threw back the curtain, and called, "Detective? Detective!"

He heard Chloe run into their room as he grabbed a towel to start drying them off. 

"What's wrong?" She insisted. 

"We were under the steam and then she started shivering, so I put her under some of the water, but she still seamed cold, even though she feels just about as hot as I normally do."

Chloe made a grabbing motion with her fingers, physically asking for him to hand the baby over. Chloe winced when she felt Iris. "Oh my gosh. You poor thing!"

She picked her up and held her close, doing her best to calm her down, but Iris kept on crying. "I think we should take her to the doctor." Chloe said for the second time that morning. 

This time, Lucifer agreed. He rushed to get dressed first, not putting in nearly half the effort he normally does, given that this was a bit of an emergency. 

Chloe went back into the nursery to get Iris into some actual clothes, and then she said she would throw something on. 

Lucifer ran downstairs to load up the car when the older urchin stopped him. 

"Lucifer what's wrong?" She asked, a fork full of pancake in her hand. 

"Ah," Lucifer hesitated, grabbing the keys to his BMW that had been appropriated for the family from the hook on the wall. 

"We believe your sister's sick. She's running a pretty nasty temperature, so your mum and I are going to take her to the doctor."

Trixie became extremely concerned and starting shooting off questions and wondering what she could do to help.

"Just," Lucifer interrupted rather impatiently, "stay here and keep the doors locked. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Trixie didn't argue further because then her mom came jogging down the stairs, Iris in one hand and a diaper bag in the other.

She had put on a large white shirt and a pair of jeans that Lucifer could have sworn were in an unfolded heap on their bedroom floor yesterday, but it seemed she also hadn't messed with her hair or makeup in the rush. 

They loaded Iris into the BMW and took off to the nearest Quick Care. It was Saturday, meaning their normal pediatrician wasn't in, otherwise they would've just gone there. Iris screamed almost the entire way. Chloe would tear her fingers through her hair nervously. Lucifer knew she hated hearing her child in pain, knowing there was nothing she could do about it. 

When they arrived, Chloe and Lucifer had to fill out insurance and symptom forms. They waited for only ten minutes, Iris still crying just not as intensely. 

A nurse escorted them to a room where she took Iris's weight, height, blood pressure, temperature (Lucifer was appalled when the nurse shoved the thermometer up the baby's backside), and asked questions about her symptoms. Chloe told the nurse exactly everything that happened and that she didn't know what to do so they just decided to bring her in. Except, she left out anything having to do with her more angelic concerns.

The nurse assured them that they did the right thing and that the doctor would be in to see them shortly. Shortly to doctors apparently meant a half hour, and for a majority of that, Iris cried and refused to be consoled be either of them. 

"Bloody hell, if we're waiting longer than they're in here, somebody will be sorry." Lucifer said through gritted teeth. 

Chloe sighed. 

After thirty minutes of waiting, there was a knock on the door, and an attractive young man walked in, introduced himself as Dr. Pike, and shook both Chloe's and Lucifer's hands. 

"So what's going on? Iris is running a fever?" He asked politely. 

Chloe could see Lucifer tense and smirk like he was about to make a rude comment, so she interjected, "She woke up with a runny nose and a fever. Her fever got worse after we tried standing in a steamy room with her, and she's been extremely fussy. We didn't have any medicine for her, and frankly, didn't know what to do, so we decided to bring her in."

The doctor thought on that for a moment before saying, "Her temperature was pretty high. Is she coughing at all?"

Both Chloe and Lucifer shook their heads in a negative.

"I'm going to run a rapid antigen test for the flu. It's not common in babies, but just to rule it out."

He called a nurse in and they took a swab from the inside of Iris's mouth. He then assured them that the test results would be back in under five minutes. 

"If it is the flu, how would she have gotten it?" Lucifer asked. "It's not flu season."

"That's true," Dr. Pike said, "Does Iris attend day care?"

"No," Lucifer answered. "She stays with a family member."

"Are there other children in the house? Is there anyone you know who's been sick?"

Chloe figured out where this question was going, having been to the doctor with Trixie several times. He wants to know if any other children have been sick lately that could have given the virus to her. "The family member she stays with has a son that just started preschool, and my other daughter just started high school. Nobody we know has been sick, though."

Dr. Pike hummed and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"My best guess is, if it is influenza, either your daughter or the other child was a carrier for it from someone at school. Schools are breeding grounds for disease, especially the younger ones. Luckily, we have antibiotics to treat it, and we probably caught it early, so Iris should be just fine."

Both of them let out sighs of relief. Lucifer made a comment about humans and the millions of disgusting bacteria they carry with them wherever they go, and Chloe laughed it off nervously, hoping Dr. Pike ignored him. 

A few minutes later, a nurse came in with the test results. 

"Nope!" Dr. Pike exclaimed. "Thankfully, Iris does not have the flu. She just has a nasty cold. I'll prescribe you some medicine for the post-nasal drip and ask that you buy some Baby Tylenol for her fever. She should be feeling better in a few days."

Chloe and Lucifer both thanked Dr. Pike, and they took Iris home, planning on a full day of napping and doing quiet activities. Chloe wondered if at some point, she should pick Lucifer's brain about what he thought of her self-actualization theory regarding the kids. It might not hurt to hear what he thinks. He's dealing with all of this unknown just as much as she is. 

It doesn't matter to Chloe what Iris is or what she might choose to be; she loves her daughter with everything she is and would do anything to take her pain away, even if it is just from a cold. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wrote this chapter right before season 5A aired, and during (what was it?) 5x8, when Amenadiel was all upset over Charlie getting sick, I kid you not, I FLIPPED OUT! I was like, "Holy crap, am I psychic or what? LOL!". What Amenadiel, Michael, and Lucifer were talking about with Charlie being mortal totally goes with my prediction for Charlie's (and Iris's) powers. So yeah, what Linda and Chloe talked about is totally my prediction for Charlie in canon. He's got to see himself as an angel because he's being raised in the human world; even though he's a baby, he's only seeing himself as a human right now.


	10. Night Time Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little glimpse about what happens every night when it's time to put Iris to bed. I hope this pure fluff is able to put a smile on your face today. :D

Since buying the new house and settling in, there never seemed to be much of a quiet moment; there was always unpacking to do, designing a room, taking care of the kids, or work. Chloe and Lucifer found it easiest to split up the work, eventually ending up in the middle. Chloe suggested they try that after dinner when the baby needed to go to sleep, in order to solidify Iris's schedule now that they were in the new house. Lucifer still didn't understand what the big deal about keeping such a tiny person on a strict schedule was about, but either way, he agreed to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen, while Chloe took the baby upstairs to get a pre-bed bath. 

As Chloe headed up the stairs with the baby, she heard Lucifer trying to trick Trixie into helping him clean the kitchen. 

"Urchin, instead of doing ludicrous dances for that foolish ticking app, why don't you come wipe down the table."

"Fine," Chloe heard Trixie moan. Chloe giggled as she and Iris reached the bathroom. 

"Alright, bath time stinky girl," She joked, gently undressing the baby on the vanity counter while running the tub. 

Iris didn't seem to mind baths; she would try and kick the water and thought making big splashes was funny. Getting her hair washed was by far her favorite though; Chloe would gently massage the shampoo into her dark hair and Iris would close her eyes dreamily and even lick her lips, like getting her hair washed was the best thing in the world (besides eating).

Chloe talked to Iris throughout the entire bath, explaining what Mommy did next, until she was all washed up. Chloe picked up an animal-printed fluffy bath towel and picked Iris up out of the draining water, proceeding to towel dry her off and tickle her as she went. That was another thing Iris had got very good at lately, smiling and giggling. Her happy grin, though toothless, absolutely captivated Chloe. It made her smile seeing another person find something so insignificant hilarious, or make her beam with such light, though, that's innocence, she supposes. Chloe would watch her daughter smile and hear her laugh all day if she could. 

After Iris dried off and Chloe wrapped her up all snug, she carried her down the hall to her nursery. Now came the trickier part. Getting a baby ready to go to sleep was actually a lot harder in practice than in theory. Iris didn't always want to sit still or cooperate when Chloe changed her or put lotion on. A process that should take five minutes, tops, usually took fifteen or more. As quickly as she could, Chloe put a fresh diaper on Iris, rubbed some baby lotion on her (lavender scented), changed her into rainbow footie-pajamas, and combed her hair. 

Overall, Iris was a happy and easy going baby. The older she got, the less she fussed when Chloe changed her, but she most definitely had her moments. She would get impatient, especially around feeding time and when she was cold, but more often than not, whenever Iris cried, it was just because she wanted somebody to hold her. 

Just as she finished combing Iris's fine, dark hair, she heard what sounded like Lucifer coming up the stairs. Well, she knew it wasn't Trixie because she usually ran up and down the stairs, making an unnecessary amount of noise, so that left only one other person in the house. 

She smiled at Iris, gently petting her head, and said, "I hear Daddy, is Daddy coming?"

Iris cooed and smiled; Lucifer strolled into the room moments after. 

"Getting sleepy yet?" He asked, walking over the changing table and standing beside Chloe, wrapping one arm around her waist. As if to answer, Iris yawned. 

"Little bit. A story should do the rest of the job." Chloe giggled. Chloe lifted her up and brought her over to the rocking chair while Lucifer hovered behind them, grabbing the first pacifier he saw on the changing table and gently pushing it into Iris's mouth.

Tonight's bedtime story was Goodnight Moon (chosen by the method of letting Iris pick up the first book she found). 

While Chloe read off the nightly greetings to everything in the fictional house, Iris sucked on the pink pacifier and snuggled herself into her mom's chest, her breaths eventually becoming deeper and slower as her dark eyes drifted closed. 

As she finished the story, Chloe quietly stood and walked Iris over to her crib. She gave Iris a long kiss on the forehead and some smaller ones on her cheeks. "Mommy loves you, Iris. Sweet dreams my littlest monkey." She whispered as she laid Iris down on the soft cotton sheets. 

Lucifer reached a hand in with a fond smile and ran a thumb down their daughter's plump cheeks. 

"Good night darling, sleep well."

Chloe turned out the light as she left, but she realized that Lucifer was still standing over the crib and not following her out.

"Hey, you coming?" Chloe whispered. 

"Be there in a moment, Detective. I'll meet you downstairs." He whispered back. 

Chloe shrugged. If he wanted to hang out upstairs a little bit, that means she can be the first one downstairs to pick a movie for just the two of them to watch. No Body Bags movies tonight! Whoop whoop!

As soon as she thought that, she quietly ran downstairs to the living room, jumped on the couch, and turned on the large TV to scroll through _her_ Netflix list. 

Chloe had just started flipping through the movies on her list first, but a persistent cooing on the baby monitor disrupted her. 

She glanced away from the TV to make sure Iris was okay, and what she saw made her abandon the remote for the monitor screen. Lucifer had picked Iris up out of her crib!

"What is he doing?" Chloe muttered angrily as she watched him. They had just put her down; who knows if she'd go back to sleep now that he'd disturbed her.

"Hey hey, shhh," Chloe heard Lucifer whisper. Chloe pursed her lips together; she was about to march back up there and scold him for waking her up, but what Lucifer did next stopped her. 

Lucifer held Iris against him, his arms enveloping her into him. He paced the room with her and just talked. He told her all about the case they worked on today, then something stupid Amenadiel told him. Chloe giggled at how he retold the story of his day like he was speaking to her or Linda instead of a little baby, but Iris stayed calm and just laid on her dad. She always found that funny about Lucifer, how he always spoke to children like he does to any other adult, although, that's probably because of how little of his time is spent around children, which made more sense to Chloe after finding out the truth. 

Chloe wondered (as she snuggled underneath a blanket) if this was Lucifer's way of getting one-on-one time with Iris. Really, any time they spent with her was together, and if anything else needed to be done either parenting wise or around the house, they would do it together or Chloe would volunteer to take Iris. She made a mental note to let him take her more, just in case he simply wanted time with her. Chloe hadn't thought anything of it in the past, but now she'd be more conscious. That's Lucifer, though; he wouldn't always tell her how he's feeling, but if she watched his actions enough, she could start putting the clues together. 

She saw him smiling as he came back into the middle of the room, finishing the story with the interrogation they sat in that afternoon. 

"Your mum and I will catch the bad guy soon, don't you worry." He assured her. 

He leaned his head back a bit to try and look at her face, but it was difficult from his angle. Chloe could see perfectly though; Iris's eyes were half opened as she continued to suck on the pacifier. 

_What a freaking daddy's girl_ , Chloe thought, _although she probably gets that from me_.

Her smile grew of its own volition and her middle warmed as she thought of the relationship she and her dad had when she was a child; how incredible would that be to witness two of the greatest loves of her life having their own relationship like that?

Chloe heard Lucifer begin to sing softly.

" _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away._ " 

Chloe's eyes stung with tears, but her heart swelled with love. Please, anything but that song! 

" _The other night dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms. When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken. So I hung my head and I cried._ "

Chloe remembered the first time Lucifer spoke to Iris in the hospital after she was born, when he thought she was sleeping, and he called her the light of his life. She realized that she really needs to stop pretending to sleep as a way to eavesdrop on him...but it's really fun.

" _I'll always love you and make you happy, if you will only say the same. But if you leave me to love another, you'll regret it all some day._ "

Lucifer sighed after that verse and frowned. Chloe knew that he wouldn't get in the way of Iris's future happiness, even if that meant she left them. She knew already that learning to let a child go to let them experience their own lives was one of the hardest parts of the job. Chloe had a feeling letting Iris go would be especially difficult for Lucifer, but she'd help him; that's what partners do. 

" _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away._ "

Chloe continued watching as he swayed, like he and Iris were dancing. The latter, however, was fast asleep. 

" _You told me once, dear, you really loved me, and no one else could come between. But now you've left me and love another; you have shattered all my dreams._ "

 _I swear to your dad, if you play this song at her wedding some day, I will skewer you and then probably myself with one of Maze's knives. Might as well because you just shattered my heart, I think._ Chloe mentally swore.

" _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away._ "

Lucifer finished the song quieter than before, leaving it on a breath, as he gently placed the sleeping girl back in her crib among her collection of stuffed animals. 

He gave her a kiss, stroked her face like before when Chloe was in there, and whispered, "I love you, Little Bullet."

Chloe had to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep herself from squealing and/or crying. Why does he have to be so freaking adorable? He left the frame of the baby monitor and then Chloe heard him in the hallway. She scrambled to put the baby monitor back in its place quickly, making it and herself look like she hadn't just been spying on him. 

Chloe was flipping through her list again when Lucifer sauntered into the room. 

"Find anything good?" He asked as he sat next to her on the couch, draping one arm over her shoulder as she leaned into his side. 

"Mmm, how about I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry? That's a funny one," Chloe suggested. 

"Haven't seen it," Lucifer replied. "Let's give it a try." 

Chloe clicked play on the movie and wrapped her arms around Lucifer's middle. While the logos rolled across the screen, Chloe looked up at her partner and said softly, "Hey,"

"Hello," He smiled down at her, pecking a kiss on her forehead, which made Chloe smile. 

"I love you," She reminded him. 

"And I you, darling." He whispered into her hair as he placed more small kisses there. 

"And I think you're an amazing dad. Have I told you that?" 

Lucifer chuckled, but replied, "Not recently, you haven't, but I appreciate that Detective."

Chloe decided to not say anything more. He didn't have to know that she knew about his new lullaby routine with Iris, but letting him know that he's been doing a great job as a partner and father wouldn't hurt anybody. 


	11. Ma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris says her first word! The only trouble is, nobody is really sure what she meant to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place on the tail end of Fevers and Self-Actualization Queries. Basically, Iris is getting over her cold. The last three chapters all happened within a week.

Just a few days after Iris's trip to the doctor, Maze stopped by the house. She had been across the country on a bounty hunt, had just gotten home, and wanted to hang out with some of her favorite girls. 

"Maze! You're home!" Trixie exclaimed as she opened the front door. 

"'Sup little human?" Maze smiled while she and Trixie exchanged their disturbing handshake. 

"Not much. Iris has been sick this week and school's been busy."

As they walked through the front of the house, Maze interrogated Trixie on her first few days of high school. She apologized for not being there to see her off, but she made sure that Trixie knew how to take down the meaner kids with her words, but always had the option of knives as a back up. The demon couldn't fathom why the school would make such a stupid rule that students can't bring knives to class.

"How do they expect you to defend yourselves?" She yelled. 

When they reached the living room where Chloe was snuggling on the couch with Iris, Maze beamed and took a seat next to them. 

"Heard somebody had a rough week?" Maze asked. 

"Yeah," Chloe sighed, pushing herself into a sitting position. She had Iris wrapped in a navy swaddle over her chest; it seemed to be the best way to get her to fall asleep this week, having Iris swaddled against hers or Lucifer's chest.

"Her fever died down on Monday thanks to the Tylenol, and the medicine the doctor prescribed seems to be clearing up her nose pretty well."

Maze examined the sleeping baby. The kid grew everyday, and while Maze was only gone for two weeks, Iris already seemed much older than when she left. She still had all of her baby chub that Maze hoped she'd outgrow soon (her current body would make it difficult for her to train to fight). Her soft dark locks were growing longer too. Now, Iris's hair curled at the nape of her neck in little ringlets, but the rest was still relatively straight and wispy.

Iris opened her eyes a moment later and picked her head up off of her mom's chest. Her eyes remained dark brown and warm, not unlike her dad's on a good day. She smiled a big toothless grin at Maze and started her indecipherable babbling. 

"Mornin' lil' devil." Maze greeted with a small smile. Chloe gave a long, tired exhale. Unfortunately, Maze hadn't decided to drop that nickname since she first said it at the gender reveal. 

Iris started squirming in the swaddle and making sounds of protest. 

"You want to go see Auntie Maze? Okay." Chloe said as she worked as quickly as possible to untangle them both from the wrap. 

Once Iris was free, she crawled over Chloe into Maze's lap. 

Maze beamed and picked her up, letting her hang out in her lap while Iris played with the frilly strings hanging off Maze's crop top. 

"Still not talking yet, huh?" Maze asked. 

Chloe shook her head with a defeated frown. "I know it's still a little early, but Trixie said her first word at eight months, and so did Charlie. She crawled on time and hit all her other milestones, and she's babbling like crazy. We all talk to her and try to get her to say just one easy word, but still nothing."

Maze bounced her leg a bit and replied confidently, "She'll get there. Maybe she's more of a thinker than a talker. It'll make her one hell of a warrior one day, won't it Rissy?"

For whatever reason, half the family had taken to calling Iris "Rissy" since Charlie started doing it. Chloe had to admit, it was cute, but Iris was still a beautiful name. 

The laughed for a moment as Iris kept playing with different parts of Maze's outfit. 

The girls chit chatted a while longer, Maze filling Trixie in on all of the gory bounty details. Maze spent the next few minutes playing on the floor with Iris. Using her friend as a distraction and a babysitter allowed Chloe some time to go get herself cleaned up and get some things done around the house. Between work and taking care of a sick child, the chores got away from both her and Lucifer. Speaking of which, he had run to the store just before Maze arrived to pick up some more medicine and some food for this week. 

Maze found a multi-colored, smiling octopus and repeatedly booped Iris's face with it, making her giggle and try to grab the toy that was just out of reach. Chloe eventually came back and sat just to the side of them, beaming and watching Maze and Iris play together. 

Lucifer walked in a moment later with the groceries. Chloe and Trixie got up to go help. Maze stayed on the floor with the baby, but she turned around with a smirk as Lucifer walked into the kitchen and greeted her. 

"Mazikeen! I didn't realize you'd be stopping by today."

Maze shrugged and replied, "Figured I'd stop in and see my favorite niece. Haven't seen her in a few months."

Lucifer rolled his eyes and muttered that she's her _only_ niece. 

"What? You thought I came to see you?" Maze teased. 

Lucifer turned from putting some frozen chicken in the refrigerator and said, "Well nobody else has since someone stole the spotlight."

Trixie came in then carrying a large box of diapers and heard Lucifer complaining. "Is he being a drama queen again?"

Lucifer closed the refrigerator a bit louder than necessary while Maze laughed into her fist. 

"I'm sorry urchin. Did I not just buy you a hundred and twenty-two dollars worth of groceries to sustain you for the next week? I don't need the sass."

Maze and Trixie smirked at each other as Trixie murmured, "Guess I have my answer."

Lucifer seemed about to protest again when Chloe came in with a few more bags. 

"Will you two quit picking on each other?" She said in her disapproving Mom voice.

The three bickered back and forth about who started it until a smaller voice made them all stop. 

"Ma...ma." 

All four of them fell silent and eight eyes turned to look at Iris, who had sat herself up and was looking at Chloe...or was it Maze? Maze was still sitting in her same spot, but Chloe was about to head back out to the car, so she was standing just behind Maze by a few feet. 

"Ma," Iris said again with confidence, but she became distracted by the octopus Maze had discarded on the floor. 

"Ma...ma...ma," Iris kept saying to herself. 

"Did she...?" Chloe breathed, narrowing her eyes and leaning her head to the side. 

"Say her first word?" Lucifer finished for her.

All was quiet again until Chloe ran over to Iris and scooped her up. 

"Good job Iris! You said your first word! You said Momma! I'm so proud of you." Chloe beamed with pride, both for her daughter's milestone and the fact that she said momma first. Trixie said dada first when she was a baby and momma didn't come until much later. 

"Hey!" Maze interrupted, coming to her feet. "She was looking at me." She challenged. "She was trying to say Maze."

" _No_ ," Chloe disagreed, "she was looking _over_ you. It was really close, I know, but trust me, she said momma." She hugged Iris closer. 

" _Maze_." Maze insisted. 

" _Momma_." Chloe shot back. 

This went on for some time. 

Lucifer eventually had to take Iris out of the room because she had begun to get fussy, and it didn't seem Chloe or Maze were going to let the argument drop for anything. 

After over two hours of debate and the throwing of some pillows and baby toys, Lucifer intervened while Trixie took the baby upstairs.

"Bloody hell, _enough_!" He stepped in between the women and yelled. Both stopped, Chloe seeming slightly ashamed and Maze annoyed that he interrupted their fight. 

"Does it even matter what Iris said? She's finally bloody talking! This is her moment and her mother and aunt are ruining it." He looked in between them disapprovingly. 

Chloe surrendered first, dropping her pillow ammunition and sighing, "You're right Lucifer. I'm sorry. It's stupid. And Maze, I'm sorry...for all of this."

Maze scoffed, "I'm not. That was fun." Then her tone dropped into seriousness, as she shifted from foot to foot and looked at the ground uncomfortably, "But...you're right that it was the kid's big moment, and we were bitches."

Lucifer nodded, his tone and demeanor becoming much calmer now that Maze and Chloe had apologized to one another. 

"Right," He turned to Chloe. "Now, can you please go back to being the responsible parent? I don't like it." He asked her. 

Chloe smiled and laughed through her nose, "Yeah," she said with a shake of her head. Lucifer did get better at parenting everyday, but she knew very well that she would have to be the responsible one and the disciplinarian until she could teach him how to properly balance the jobs between them. She wanted to be the fun parent too, but when it was called for. 

"Good," He huffed. Then he adjusted his suit jacket and declared, "I'm going to go make our daughter some strawberries and bananas to have with her dinner." With that, he headed off to the kitchen. 

Maze scrunched her eyebrows with disgust. She looked at Chloe and jabbed a thumb in Lucifer's direction. Chloe supposed she was wondering what he meant by that.

Chloe replied softly, "Oh, we've been slowly weaning Iris off the breast milk by introducing more solid foods. She's been pretty picky, but she loves strawberries and bananas, so the last couple weeks we've decided to let that be her special treat until she decides to branch out to new foods."

Maze's eyes glazed over like she was bored, but she still nodded. 

Maze stayed for dinner as well. Iris loved practicing her new-found ability, and it even got to a point where everyone got sick of hearing the mystery word. 

"Ya know lil' devil?" Maze leaned over and said to Iris. "Everyone's been telling me that they think you're sweet just like your mom...but I don't think so. You're just like your dad. You don't shut up."

"Ma!" Iris exclaimed with a smile as she swung her little chubby legs against the bottom of the high chair. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think Iris was trying to say? Momma or Maze?


	12. Tickles and Giggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris’s personality has developed as well as her vocabulary.

In early October, Lucifer and Iris had the house all to themselves. The detective was at some dumb meeting about new computer systems and the urchin was spending the night at Detective Douche's. 

Lucifer's not quite sure what he did or if the spawn ate something, but her very small body seemed to have been flooded with energy. 

It wasn't a completely horrible thing because at least it was happy energy, but it made it more challenging for Lucifer to keep an eye on her. Part of him missed the days when she hadn't figured out crawling or much movement yet, and she would be perfectly content in her little swing or bassinet. Oh well, now they're just closer to when she's more fun, he supposed. 

Baby Iris - now having mastered crawling and had taken up learning how to stand on her own - sped around the playroom/den on all fours, her smile taking up her whole face, and giggling without end. 

"What're you...get back here you little speed demon!" Lucifer called, discarding the game he had been playing on his phone when Iris decided to make her way out of the room and toward the stairs. 

They had a baby gate, but the older she got, the taller she became, and the more likely it was that she would figure out the trickery that is the baby gate (it should be noted that Lucifer couldn't figure it out for a few weeks, and mostly used his abilities on it). 

"Ah ah! Where do you think you're going?" He asked as he quickly walked into the hall. Iris was standing, supported by the bars of the baby gate, and babbling away. 

"C'mere," Lucifer laughed through his teeth, as he used both hands to scoop his daughter up by her chest and legs. Iris screeched and laughed from her tummy at the exhilarating movement. 

Lucifer hoisted her up above him and made a playful snarling face, which, to Iris, was the funniest thing in the world, especially so when Lucifer would bring their faces in close together and their noses would boop. 

The small child continued to babble to no end. Every once in a while, Lucifer could make out the small words she had learned, but nothing that could pass for legitimate English. 

He would reply every so often to a string of babbling with, "Oh?...Really?...Ah, I see," even though he had no bloody clue what she was going on about.

He carried her back into the den, where she was supposed to be playing with her extensive collection of toys (honestly, this child is spoiled). He sat back down on the couch but after setting her in front of a colorful machine with many moving and swat-able pieces. 

Realizing that she didn't want to play with her toys, Iris crawled back over to the couch Lucifer was sitting on and used the cushions to hoist herself up into a semi-standing position. She huffed a few giggles and bounced, smiling brightly up at Lucifer as she tried to get his attention. 

"Yes offspring, what is it?" Lucifer asked, feeling a small smile creep up his face. It seemed that women of all ages just couldn't resist him. 

Iris babbled something incoherent again, raised her hands in the air, making a quick grabbing motion, before nearly falling down from a loss of balance. 

Lucifer sighed dramatically before grabbing her around her pudgy middle and heaving her up onto the couch with him. He set her down next to him, letting her bounce a bit and giggle. 

Iris caught her breath and then, for some reason, decided that she wanted to do somersaults! With Iris in her own little imaginary world, making herself laugh with her own idea of fun, Lucifer sat back and laughed with amusement at his little girl. She's quite special, she is. He still can't believe he had almost lost her to his siblings some time ago, or that part of him used to want to run away from the idea of her. Now he was entranced by this beautiful little person he and the detective had made together, and he couldn't wait to see who she would become. 

Lost in his own admiring thoughts, Iris tumbled too far and right into Lucifer and shook her head like she was clearing away dizzy stars in her eyes. 

"Oi!" Lucifer lightly said, scooping his little gymnast back up and plopping her down on her back. 

"Watch where you're going!" He teased, hovering over her as she smiled. Lucifer saw two tiny teeth just cutting her bottom gums from his angle. 

He wiggled his long, slender fingers over her tauntingly. Iris watched them enthusiastically, often kicking her small legs in excitement. 

Lucifer mocked an evil laugh and grinned devilishly as he dove his fingers into Iris's stomach and began tickling her. 

Just like her mother, Iris screamed and laughed uncontrollably. The urchin actually discovered how ticklish her sister is not long ago while they were playing. 

"So ticklish!" Lucifer giggled himself, watching as Iris squeezed her eyes closed, her cheeks rounded like tiny apples from her smile, and her hands moved up near her double chin. 

He stopped so that she could catch her breath, but she soon demanded more tickles. 

"More? Are you sure?" Lucifer came back in with the same taunting fingers. 

Iris squealed a laugh in response. 

Lucifer began enthusiastically tickling again and Iris screamed with laughter. 

"Is this what you desire? You desire more tickles?" Lucifer asked, laughing as he did so. 

His phone buzzed with a text in his pocket. 

"T-time out." He said, sitting back up to answer it, in case it was the detective. 

Turns out it was, she just wanted to let him know that she was on her way home. As he opened up his lock screen to reply to her, Iris began making noises of protest next to him, rolling around with her feet in her hands. 

"One moment, sweetheart. Just replying to your mother." Lucifer replied, but Iris still made unhappy noises. 

Lucifer became distracted by a few other notifications that popped up on his phone in the last thirty minutes, which prolonged the tickling his daughter so desperately wanted. He had blocked out most of her squeals while he quickly dismissed notifications. 

"Dad-da!" Iris called out. 

Lucifer's head snapped up to attention, his eyes bulging wide, and his head slowly turning back toward Iris. 

Once his eyes came into her view, Lucifer saw that she had her face scrunched up in a pout, still holding onto her feet. However, as soon as he paid the slightest bit of attention, Iris dropped her legs and her bright smile returned. 

"Dadda!" She exclaimed again, this time with more joy than urgency. 

Lucifer flinched back slightly, a strange tightening feeling in his chest that he normally felt whenever the detective had done or said something inconceivable. 

"Wh-what did you?" Lucifer said softly, not quite believing his ears, and annoying tears pricking his eyes. 

"Dadda!" Iris squealed yet again, growing more impatient for tickles. 

"Ha!" Lucifer grinned from ear-to-ear, clapping his hands together excitedly. "That’s...me! Y-you know my name! Oh my-"

Lucifer scooped Iris up into his arms, relieving her need for attention slightly, and hugged her close to him. Another one of the things, he realized, that he still enjoyed about her being so small, is that his hands are still larger than her back, therefore, she fits into his chest perfectly for hugs. 

"Yes! I'm Dadda! And you're the only person allowed to call me that."

Truth be told, he had a pet peeve about sexual partners calling him "daddy" in bed. It just drudged up unpleasant memories about his father and slightly insinuated that Lucifer himself had children, which, at that time, he very much did not want. 

"That's my girl," Lucifer said under his breath as he continued to hold Iris close to him and press his face against her small one. Honestly, even though he was overjoyed at the new concept she's learned, Lucifer felt just as sick as he did the day the detective told him she was pregnant. All of this fatherly responsibility would just hit him sometimes, like a WWE champion's punch to the face, and Lucifer wanted to desperately run away from anything reminding him of his own horrible relationship with his father. After all, He is the one Lucifer thinks of when he hears the word "dad", it's just habit. But now, all of it takes on a new meaning. Iris's face is the one he sees after the stunning reminder of fatherhood, but he can't leave her...he doesn't want to, not anymore. He loves her.

"Dadda," He heard her say again but quietly this time.

Lucifer let out a laugh that was wet with emotion. He doubts he'll ever get tired of hearing her say that. He and the detective had been working on getting Little Bullet to say more English words for quite some time, only being successful on a few. 

They discovered that "Ma" eventually did mean Chloe (sorry Mazikeen), "Sih" means "Sissy" in regards to Trixie, and"Baba" means bottle, along with a few other shortened versions of words. Lucifer didn't let it show much, but as time went on, he was rather disappointed that Iris hadn't begun calling him something yet. He thought they were close. The detective had told him not to get discouraged and that Iris would learn at her own pace. He supposed his wonderful detective was right because it just happened!

Lucifer let Iris go and let her sit in his lap. She began playing with his stubble, seemingly finding it an odd sensation. She furrowed her eyebrows, like the pinchy hair confused her, but smiled like she liked it. Lucifer didn't mind her squishing his face. 

"Bloody hell, I love you so much, Little Bullet." Lucifer murmured, feeling nothing but overwhelming adoration for his daughter. 

"Dadda, Dadda, Dadda," Iris whispered over and over again as she played with his face. 

Lucifer spluttered as she put her baby hands over his mouth and one of his eyes. 

"Yes. This face tends to be a crowd pleaser." Lucifer said, a bit distorted though since baby fingers were making their way into his mouth. He pretended to chew on them (with his lips, not teeth of course), which also made Iris giggle excitedly. It really wasn't hard to make this child laugh, unlike her cousin when he was smaller.

"Mmm, unless you’re Charlie, of course," Lucifer added. His face furrowed with puzzlement as he finished, "Should probably be concerned that he prefers my devil face, but...oh well!" Lucifer shrugged. 

"Iris? Lucifer? I'm home!" Lucifer heard the detective call into the house as she walked through the front door. 

Lucifer beamed and called back, "In here Detective!"

He whispered to Iris, "Shall we show her what you learned today?"

The detective found them in the den a few seconds later and smiled at them, her blonde ponytail swinging behind her.

"Ma!" Iris called out.

"Hi," She smiled, her eyes lingering on Iris a bit longer, "I missed you guys today."

The detective walked over to the couch and crouched down next to it. 

"Rough day at the office, love?" Lucifer asked teasingly, still holding Iris on his lap, as he leaned his head into the detective's with his lips puckering slightly. 

Chloe scoffed and muttered, "Boring," as she met his lips in the middle, placing a small kiss there. 

"Ooh! We have something to show you!" Lucifer announced, looking back at Iris.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Chloe cooed, following his gaze to their daughter. 

"Ma," Iris smiled at Chloe and reached for her. 

"Hey baby," Chloe beamed as she let Iris's small hands grip her fingers. 

"Wait, wait, wait!" Lucifer whined, diverting the detective's attention back to him. 

Chloe raised an eyebrow at him as Iris let go of her fingers. 

"Now, Little Bullet, say it." Lucifer smiled expectantly, his eyes flitting back and forth between Iris and the detective. 

Iris said nothing. 

"Oh come on!" Lucifer's voice raised, "You couldn't shut up before, now you pick this moment to?"

"Lucifer." Chloe chastised him. 

"No no no!" Lucifer assured her, "She learned a new word today, just..."

He squared himself back to his daughter and said firmly, "Iris, what's my name? Who am I?"

She still said nothing, more fascinated by her feet again, it seemed. 

"Iris," Lucifer drawled a bit in a higher tone. He tried tickling her again to get her attention, seeing as that's what she wanted last time when she said it. 

Just like last time, she laughed her head off, and when Lucifer stopped and waited, Iris squealed, "Dadda!"

Chloe gasped and beamed just as brightly as Lucifer was, as he looked to her with his goofy cheshire grin. 

"Oh my gosh! That's awesome! Great job baby!" Chloe congratulated Iris, giving her a few soft kisses and a hug. 

She turned back to Lucifer with a smirk and asked with a flat humor, "You happy now?"

"Oh very," Lucifer said with a chuckle.

After he managed to get documentation on his phone of Iris saying "Dadda", he returned to the lovely little tickling session with his littlest love.


	13. Domesticated Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the final chapter of this book, Chloe and Dan need to leave town for a week to go to a mandatory police officer's conference. Lucifer is left at home to care for both Iris and Trixie. What is supposed to be a low-key week definitely challenges Lucifer as a father and step-father. Trixie goes through a major milestone developmentally, and Lucifer realizes that Iris has an ability.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another reminder: I originally began writing this story before season 5 aired, but now I am trying to incorporate those storylines into this story. I won't say anything more than that so I don't spoil anything.

**Day 1**

"Everything packed?" Lucifer asked Chloe as she made her way down the stairs that Sunday morning. 

"Yep, I think so." Chloe replied, a bit breathless. She ran through her mental checklist for the hundredth time that morning, not that she'd really need much. 

Then she turned her attention squarely on Lucifer and persisted, "And you're _sure_ you're set. You've got no questions?"

"Absolutely none." He said confidently.

"You've read the schedule? You know where it is?"

"I know where it is, I have perused it, but I'm sure your offspring has it committed to memory."

Chloe's jaw quirked, but instead of freaking out on him, she settled for, "If you need _anything_ , promise me you'll call, or if not me, Linda or Amenadiel."

Lucifer feigned a hurt expression and replied, "Why Detective! One would think that you don't trust me with the children."

Chloe glared at him and said darkly, "You know that's not what I mean."

Lucifer chuckled and his tone became more playful. "I'm only joking. I understand, it's your first time away from the girls. You're just being motherly."

Then he added in a mumble, "If not, obsessive."

Chloe smirked and replied, "Yeah, I'm going to miss them so much, but I'm worried about you too. This is your first time being in charge of both of them at the same time. Having them one-on-one isn't bad, but being out numbered can be overwhelming. Are you sure you're ready?"

Lucifer rolled his eyes. 

"Please. I ran Hell for eons. If I can keep hordes of demons and damned souls in line, I can keep track of two urchins."

While Chloe wasn't thrilled about the comparison, he did have a point. She just needed to let go and trust her partner. She trusted him with her life on the job, so she could trust him with her daughters (one of them being his) for a week. 

Chloe and Dan were told by their lieutenant a few months ago that all detectives are required to go to conventions and trainings every few years to workshop and learn any new protocols, and just keep updated on all of the change happening in law enforcement. This year, all detectives in California who had a certain number of years on the force are required to go to a five-day long convention in Sacramento. Both Chloe and Dan qualified and were required to go to this particular convention. They would be gone for a week, seeing as the drive from Los Angeles to Sacramento is roughly six hours after taking traffic in the cities into consideration. 

Since it's early October, Chloe and Dan knew she couldn't take Trixie with them because she'd miss too much school, so after a family discussion about it, it was decided that Chloe and Dan would go on their work trip to Sacramento and Lucifer would stay at home with the girls. 

Surprisingly, Lucifer didn't object at all to this idea. He understood that Chloe needed to do this per her job requirements, so it's unavoidable. He's stayed at home with Iris before, and he's watched Trixie, so he didn't see why they were making such a big deal out of this. 

"This is a _week_ , with two kids of drastically different ages. Chloe and I won't be coming back to rescue you after a few hours. You're the dad. You're in charge for a full week, Lucifer. If you don't think you can handle that, we can have the girls stay with Penelope, or ask her to help you out." Dan made sure Lucifer understood the magnitude of what they were asking him. 

He wanted to shoot an insult back at Detective Douche about how much he can handle, but the detective cut him off before any inappropriateness ensued. In the end, Lucifer felt totally confident and prepared about being in charge for the week. Chloe made him a detailed calendar with everyone's schedules on it, and made him promise that he'd call and check in with her every night. 

Back in the present, Lucifer carried Iris in one arm and Chloe's bag in the other as he walked her outside to Dan's car. Dan was finishing saying goodbye to Trixie and reminding her to behave and get her school work done. 

Dan took the bag from Lucifer to put in the trunk of his car so that Lucifer could hand the baby off to Chloe for one last goodbye. 

It was like Iris could tell that something was up because she began fussing when Chloe handed her back to Lucifer after some awesome hugs and kisses. Chloe reminded Iris that Momma loves her so much, Momma will be back soon, and she's going to have a great week with Daddy and Sissy.

Before she got in the car, Chloe gave Trixie a hug and kiss goodbye, similarly reminding her to have a good week, to text her whenever, and to have fun with Lucifer and Iris. Also to behave, but Chloe worried more about Lucifer misbehaving than her teenager. 

"Don't worry Mom, I'll help him out." Trixie assured her. 

"I know you will monkey," Chloe said with an affectionate tussle of Trixie's hair. 

Chloe and Dan got in the car shortly after and Lucifer stood in the driveway with Iris and Trixie as they watched Chloe and Dan drive off for the week. 

Once they had turned the corner and were out of sight, Lucifer took a deep breath and said, "Right, so what do we want to do today?"

Trixie spun around quicker than Lucifer could blink and excitedly asked, "Can we go play mini-golf? _Please_?"

He had hoped that the urchin could have come up with something a little less boring, but he supposed that nothing bad or harmful come of something so dull. 

"Ah, sure, why not. Is all of your homework done though?" He asked. 

Trixie's smile fell a bit and then replied, "I have a little bit of studying to do, but it's not much."

Something told Lucifer that this was a major parenting moment, one that he would have to put his foot down for, and he thought about what the detective might say. 

His first instinct was to tell her, "Who cares? Let's go have some fun!" however, a voice that sounded eerily like the detective's told him that that was irresponsible, and he didn't want to disappoint her on Day One. 

"Alright, why don't you go finish that first, if it won't take you too long. I'll get Iris dressed, and then we can go mini-golfing."

Trixie's beaming smile returned and she shouted, "Deal!" before running back inside the house.

***

Mini-golfing was definitely an experience, to say the least. Iris was still too little to play, so she mostly just toddled around the colorful area while Trixie and Lucifer played. Lucifer felt utterly ridiculous on such a small course with such a small club. One day, he'll have to teach the urchin real golf. That game, he somewhat enjoyed. 

Trixie had selected a purple ball for herself and a red ball for Lucifer. They played all eighteen holes; the score was close, but in the end, Lucifer won by just a hair. 

On the way home, they stopped by the store and picked up frozen pizza for dinner. Lucifer had planned meals for the rest of the week, but normally neither he nor the detective cook on the weekends. 

After dinner, the girls played for a little bit and Trixie watched one of Iris's baby shows with her while Lucifer cleaned up the kitchen. 

When he had finished with that, it was time for Iris's bath. Trixie used that time to put on her own pajamas. 

Iris loved the bath. More importantly, she loved her bath toys and splashing, a game Lucifer very much did not enjoy, and neither did his suits. Eventually, Little Bullet got cleaned and dressed for bed. 

As Lucifer was brushing her soft, fine hair, his phone began to ring. 

Answering it, he greeted her a bit louder than normal so that the urchin would know that she had called. 

"Ah, hello Detective!"

Just as he thought, small-ish feet came running through the hallway into the nursery. 

"Hi Mom!" Trixie called and waved at the screen. 

Chloe had Face-Timed them from her hotel room. 

"Hey guys! How's it going?" She asked. 

"Good," Trixie and Lucifer said in unison. 

"Mama!" Iris said loudly. 

"Hi sweetheart!" Chloe called to her. Lucifer turned the phone around to show the detective that bath time was a success. 

"I'll say goodnight to her now. It's almost her bedtime." Chloe decided. 

She said her normal goodnight to Iris, and then Lucifer handed the phone of to Trixie so that he could finished the night time routine. Lullaby by Sleeping At Last was the lullaby of choice tonight. 

The night time routine ran a bit longer than normal. Iris didn't seem to like that Chloe wasn't there, but eventually Lucifer did get her down. When he had finished with Iris, he joined the older spawn in her room. It seems that she was just about done filling her mother and father in on her day, then she passed the phone back to Lucifer. 

"Sounds like everything went well today," Chloe observed. 

"It did," Lucifer said happily. "Did you get in alright?"

Chloe nodded and replied, "Yep. We got in around three, checked into our hotel and the convention. Then we got some dinner, and now we're just hanging out. Dan's pretty beat from driving all day."

Lucifer hummed and then said, "Is that code for you killed him after being trapped in a vehicle with Detective Douche all day?"

A faint, "I heard that," sounded in the background and Chloe laughed. 

"No, he's fine. I'm glad today went well for you though." Chloe paused and then muttered, "I miss you and I miss the girls."

Lucifer sighed and smiled, "I miss you too, Detective. There's nothing for you to worry about. I've got this week completely under control. You just need to focus on learning all of the new detectiving rules."

Chloe laughed and then repeated, "Detectiving rules?"

Lucifer nodded and replied confidently, "That's right."

They both laughed for a while, chit chatted, and then said their goodnights. 

Lucifer went and checked on Iris a few hours later, and when he observed that everything was okay, he made his way to the urchin's room. He reminded her that it was time for bed, seeing as she has to go back to that human-child prison in the morning, and luckily, she didn't argue much. 

He decided to go to bed earlier than normal, but that part didn't bother him much. Sleeping alone, without Chloe, for the first time in over two years bothered him, but he supposed it was only for a week. He needed his rest for all of the dad-business that will need to be done tomorrow. 

**Day 2**

His alarm woke him up at sixty-thirty the next morning. Still in his pajamas, Lucifer peeked into Trixie's room and gently woke her up. 

"Urchin," He whispered. He had never done this before. Only the detective does the waking-up part, so he's not sure if he's doing this right. "Time to wake up. You have school today."

Trixie moaned and turned over. "Five more minutes." She mumbled. 

Lucifer sighed, "Nope. Come on. Chop chop. I have to get your sister ready, so it's time for you to get a wriggle on so we're not late."

With that, he ripped the blankets off of Trixie, causing her to squeak and bunch in on herself.

"Not cool!" She yelled. 

"Good morning to you too, spawn." Lucifer called merrily on his way to Iris's room. He opened the nursery door and the baby picked her head up off the mattress, her hair a right mess, and smiling lazily at him. 

Lucifer turned the light on and asked, "Are you going to be more pleasant for me this morning than your sister?"

She was, until it was time to change her diaper. She left quite the lovely surprise in there for her father this morning. 

"Fucking Mondays," Lucifer muttered under his breath. 

After he got Iris changed and dressed, the two of them headed downstairs to start breakfast. 

Lucifer warmed up one of the remaining packages of the detective's breast milk in a bottle. She decided that she would like to start weaning Iris off of it, so that she's on mostly whole milk or solid foods around her first birthday, which is coming up fast. While he waited for the bottle to warm, Iris sat on the floor and played with the hanging tie of Lucifer's open bathrobe. 

"Having fun down there?" He asked. 

Iris giggled and tugged more on the tie. 

A few minutes later, Trixie thundered down the stairs, fully dressed and ready to go. 

"Ah good," Lucifer said as he sipped on his coffee, "now that you're down here, can you watch the baby while I go get dressed?"

Trixie hummed affirmatively while she pulled out cereal and milk. 

Lucifer took off to quickly do his bathroom routine before he'd have to drive the urchin to the dreaded high school. 

One of the worst parts about being in-charge is that, because of needing to bring Iris everywhere, Lucifer couldn't drive his corvette for the next six days. The detective's car was the only one with enough seats for both girls and was equipped for a car seat. The corvette sat in the garage, lonely and undriven. Lucifer begged the detective to let him bring one of his other cars out of storage for the week, but she refused, claiming that they were either two-seaters or too dangerous for the kids.

At around seven-thirty, Lucifer pulled through the car-line outside of the massive high school and Trixie got out of the car. 

"Right, have a good day, urchin. Learn a lot...um, don't let any mean girls give you a hard time." Is he supposed to remind her of anything else?

Trixie smiled and replied, "Thanks Lucifer, see you later."

"Bye!" Lucifer waved and said it in the way he knows the detective finds annoying. 

Now that he had taken care of the older spawn, he was left alone with the younger spawn. 

"Right Little Bullet," He said as he pulled out of the school lot, "what do you want to do today?"

Iris babbled. 

Lucifer hummed and replied, "Okay, well, you and I have nothing planned until three when we need to pick your sister up, so..."

Daniel had already warned him against taking the girls to bars or strip clubs, stupid Daniel. Although, there was nothing Detective Douche nor the detective could do about taking Iris to Lux, since that is Lucifer's club; they can't prohibit him from going there. 

Lucifer walked in with Iris in his arms (because he refused to walk into his own club with a bloody stroller) and saw his employees shoving the left-over stragglers out the door. The morning was normally saved for the cleaning crew and emergency staff meetings. 

"Hey boss," Megan the manager greeted as she walked past Lucifer with a purse slung over her shoulders. 

"Good morning Meggy." Lucifer said with a smirk, knowing that she hates that nickname. "Heading home?"

She yawned and nodded. Her hair was frizzy and dark circles began to make themselves known under her eyes. 

"Yep. Long night. What're you doing here on a Monday morning?" Megan asked. 

Lucifer shrugged and explained, "I'm in charge of the offspring this week while the detective is at a work conference. We just dropped the eldest off at school, so the small one and I decided to see what was up here."

Megan smiled at Iris and greeted her in a cooing baby voice. 

"Say hello, Iris." Lucifer gently commanded her. The detective had been working more on her vocabulary skills lately, and Lucifer figured this was probably important. 

Iris held out one chubby hand and waved it slightly, and faintly said, "Hi,"

Megan nearly melted at the cuteness. When she had finished, she directed her attention back to Lucifer. 

"God, I remember when she was just a few weeks old. Now she's, what? Almost one?" Megan reminisced. 

Lucifer nodded and replied, "In about two weeks."

"Wow," Megan shook her head and smiled. "They grow up _so_ fast."

"They sure do," Lucifer sighed, smiling at Iris who was fascinated with the bright lights above the club. 

"Anyway," Megan said, "I'm off to bed. Hey, if you're still bored, there's tons of paperwork to do."

Lucifer glared at her and said, "Isn't that what I pay people like you for?"

Megan laughed as she walked away from him and called, "See ya Mr. Morningstar! Bye Iris!"

Lucifer let out a long exhale and then decided to see what the state of the penthouse was. This might keep him busy until three or at least nearly then. He hasn't been back to the penthouse in about five months since he and the detective moved into their new house. He missed it, of course he did, he just hadn't found the time to come back and visit until now. 

When the elevator reached the top floor, Lucifer gestured around to Iris, "Ah, here we are my love. This was your very first house. Your mum and I lived here with you for quite a while after you were born, do you remember it? Then we moved into the house we live in now."

Iris looked around and then smiled at the pretty lights behind the bar. 

Lucifer sighed as he remembered back to the years he spent in this penthouse. Now, all the furniture was covered in white sheets, the bed was bare, and all was strangely quiet. 

He put Iris down, deciding to tidy this place up a bit and find things around here to keep him busy for the day.

Lucifer and Iris stayed at the penthouse until about lunchtime, then they went back home to get some food. After lunch, they stopped by the precinct for about an hour to visit with Miss Lopez and some of the other officers, even though the detective wasn't there. When they had finished there, they picked up Trixie from school. 

Lucifer made sure that Trixie got her school work finished when they got home. He made a casserole for dinner, made sure both children were properly fed, and then began Iris's bedtime routine. The detective called around eight o'clock, just as she had the night before, to check in on them and say goodnight. She ranted to Lucifer about how boring the conference was, and that she missed them so much. 

They stayed on the phone for about an hour, ranting and discussing each other's day. Then Lucifer fell asleep. 

Two days down, five to go.

**Day 3**

Tuesday began and proceeded just as Monday had, except with a much more bored Lucifer. He looked forward to the one difference that Tuesday brought though, and that was the break for one night from kid-approved food. Yes, tonight marked the glorious weekly tradition of Taco Tuesday, and it brought with it food he actually enjoyed or had permission to get creative with. 

"Smells good," Trixie commented as she rounded the corner into the kitchen. She had spent the last three hours after school finishing her homework, but she had said that she had a bit of a headache. 

Lucifer grinned and glanced at her from over his shoulder. He was just finishing draining the grease from meat and planned on adding some spices next. 

"I'm making you try a new spin on Taco Tuesday, since your mother isn't here to stop me. It's my own addition on a recipe I picked up from one of my trips in Spain."

Trixie sat down at her seat at the table, across from Iris's high chair. The baby was fussing and babbling away, as if she was carrying on a conversation with herself, full of mama's, dada's, and baba's. Trixie put her head in her hands and stayed quiet. 

Lucifer, unused to such quiet after moving in with her, glanced back over his shoulder at the urchin. 

"Does your head still hurt?" He asked. 

She nodded and hummed, then she added, "My stomach too."

Well that did not sound good. 

"Urchin, if you don't feel well, you don't have to eat. You should probably get back to-"

"No, I just...it's weird." Trixie said, picking her head up slightly. "I feel queasy, but at the same time I'm starving."

Lucifer sighed as he turned off the burners and prepared the taco shells. "Do you know what I think?" He asked seriously. 

"What?" Trixie asked softly, her eyebrows rising slightly. 

Lucifer looked at her gently with the slightest bit of concern and pity in his eyes, then he said, "I think you're just weird."

Trixie snorted and rolled her eyes. "I hate you." She laughed as she rose from her seat to get herself a glass of water. 

"Oh, don't lie. You know you love me, you little parasite." He smirked. 

Trixie just laughed while Lucifer finished the plates. 

He served his and Trixie's new and improved tacos, while just giving Iris the plain meat on one of her plastic kid-plates. 

A few minutes later, Lucifer had mainly focused on getting Iris to eat and not throw her food everywhere while eating his own food. He had failed to notice that Trixie had hardly touched her food. 

All of a sudden, she meekly asked, "May I be excused? I think I need to use the bathroom."

Lucifer furrowed his eyebrows at her. She is a teenager, is she not? She shouldn't have to inform adults of when nature needs to take its course. Even so, Lucifer excused her, and she quickly ran upstairs to the bathroom. 

Nearly twenty minutes later, Lucifer successfully got Iris to eat most of her food and he ate until he was satisfied. He hadn't realized until he after he'd let Iris go run around and play, while he was cleaning up the kitchen, there was a plate of untouched tacos still on the table. 

The original spawn hadn't come back from the bathroom. 

"Bullet, come with me a moment." Lucifer said, stooping down to pick Iris up off the floor. He had learned his lesson the hard way once not to leave Iris in a room by herself. It leads to a very angry detective. 

Carrying Iris, he walked up the stairs, taking them two at a time. The door to the bathroom the girls shared was still closed and Lucifer could see from the bottom crack that the light was still on. This was very odd. 

Cautiously, Lucifer knocked on the door and called, "Urchin? Is everything okay in there?"

He heard what sounded like a whimper on the other side of the door, and his immediate reaction was to enter by force, whatever that took. Except, Trixie answered before he had to.

"Um, can I call my mom?" She asked, her voice quivering. 

Lucifer thought that was extremely odd. He doesn't know much about human illnesses, but he's learned much about human anatomy since the detective's pregnancy. He's sure he could figure out some way to help her. Part of him wondered if he should call Penelope or Linda. That's what the detective asked him to do if anything went wrong.

"Are you sure? She'll probably call here in a few hours. Is there anything that I can do?" He asked gently. 

"No!" Trixie said harshly, her voice wet with emotion. Lucifer flinched at her tone, until she calmly pleaded, "Can I please just call her? M-my phone is in my r-room."

Lucifer could hear through the door how upset she seemed, so instead of pushing her further, he fished is own cell phone out of his pocket and slid it underneath the door. 

"Thanks." Trixie replied with a sniff. 

Lucifer strained his ears to try and hear what could possibly be going on in there, but Iris began fussing and struggling to get down. 

"Alright, alright," Lucifer said impatiently as he set her down. 

Iris smiled back up at him and reached up. 

"I just put you down!" Lucifer snapped. "Now you want to get back up?"

Instead, Iris grabbed onto two of his fingers with her chubby little hands and began toddling off in the direction of her room and attempting to pull Lucifer behind her. 

He felt conflicted between following the baby toward what she wanted to do and staying behind to help the older child. Although, he now heard the detective's voice on the phone on the other side of the door, and he suddenly felt calmer, like Trixie was taken care of. 

He followed Iris toward her room and played on the floor with her while he waited for the urchin to tell him what was going on. 

A few minutes later, he heard his name being called. 

"Coming!" He called as he immediately got off the floor and jogged toward the bathroom. 

Trixie was poking only her head out. Her face was red and tear-stained. Actually, she was still crying. 

She held his phone out to him and mumbled, "M-mom wants to talk to you."

Lucifer took the phone and Trixie ducked back into the bathroom. He held the phone up to his ear and asked, "Detective?"

"Hey," Chloe breathed and then said, "I need you to do me a favor."

"Of course, anything." Lucifer replied. "Is she okay?"

Chloe sighed and replied, "She will be. For now, I need you to go into our bathroom."

Lucifer did as he was told, following each direction as she said them. 

"In the cabinet underneath my sink, I need you to grab a few of my pads. Do you know what those look like?"

"Square wrapped in pink, correct?" Lucifer clarified as he peered into their bathroom cabinet and found the small bag with the pads neatly stacked inside. 

"Yes," Chloe replied, "now just give three of those to Trixie and then I'll tell you what's next."

Lucifer made an unsure noise and then asked, "Detective, why on Earth would your child be in need of your feminine products?"

There was a pause on the other line and then Chloe spoke up again, "Lucifer, hun, I need you to think for me, okay?"

Lucifer didn't appreciate that she was using her mothering voice on him, but he really didn't understand what she was getting at. 

"Why do _I_ need those things?" She asked. 

Lucifer replied simply, "Because you're a woman and you need them for your menstrual-"

Lucifer froze on his way out of the bathroom, his entire body suddenly feeling numb and then extremely sick. 

"Oh...shit."

Chloe sighed and said, "Yeah, please just don't freak out! Trixie is upset enough and she doesn't need to see you upset too. This is totally normal, just remember that, okay?"

"Okay, hold one second." Lucifer breathed as he reached Trixie's bathroom. He was finding it very hard to keep calm when this child that he's known for years has just taken a huge step into woman-hood, and for whatever reason, that means that's she's massively bleeding out of her - oh, Lucifer didn't want to think about that!

"Offspring? I have the um, well, I have the products for you."

"Thanks," Trixie replied, "just slide them under the door, please."

"She can't put one on until she gets some new clothes," Chloe said into the phone that was still at Lucifer's ear, "I need you to go into her room and get her a new pair of underwear and some pajamas."

Lucifer did as he was told, though he felt strange about going through the urchin's underwear drawer, even if it was necessary. Eventually, he found everything he needed and headed back to the bathroom. 

He knocked on the door and soon, Trixie opened the door just enough for Lucifer to push the clothes through. He handed the phone back to her as well, just in case she needed her mother again. 

Lucifer headed back into Iris's room, where she was playing away with some of her blocks. He sat on the rocking chair. He wracked his brain for something...anything. He felt so helpless, it was bloody pathetic. He just hated seeing that little parasite so upset or hurt. 

A few moments later, he heard footsteps in the hall and then Trixie slowly came in. 

"Mom wants to talk to you one more time." She said softly. She had stopped crying now and looked more comfortable, but there still seemed to be something off about her. Trixie wasn't as annoyingly enthusiastic, happy, or brave as she normally is. 

"Hello Detective," Lucifer said much more charmingly than his tone had been before."

"Hi again," Chloe chuckled, sounding much calmer than before as well. "Thanks for taking care of her. Geez, this really sucks that I can't be here with her right now." She said exasperatedly.

Lucifer replied, "You handled it, Detective, and that's all that matters. And taking care of the spawn is my job this week, for the good, the bad, and the bloody I suppose."

Chloe snorted a laugh on the other line and reprimanded, "Do not tell her that!"

Lucifer laughed and said, "I won't."

"Oh and hey, when you get a chance, maybe tomorrow, can you stop by the store and pick up some pads, liners, and tampons for Trixie? I think there's a brand specifically for tweens or girls who just started their period."

Lucifer shuttered. He did not like talking about these girly things, especially when they were about the little urchin, who apparently is not so little anymore. 

"Okay. I'll see what I can find." He replied.

They talked about Iris for a bit because Chloe wanted to know how she was doing; she even said her goodnights to the baby now instead of around eight when she normally calls. 

As they hung up, an idea dawned on Lucifer.

"Come along, spawn," He said, picking up Iris and heading out into the hall toward Trixie's room. 

"Urchin," He said as he stood in the doorway with the baby. Trixie was laying on her bed and flipping through her phone.

"Yeah?" She replied. 

"I'm making a run to the store. Will you be alright here by yourself for a few minutes?" He asked. 

Trixie smiled and nodded, although Lucifer was still slightly bothered by the fact that it wasn't the normal Trixie-joy. 

Even so, he grabbed his wallet, loaded Iris up in the car, and drove off. They ended up at Target a few minutes later. Lucifer grabbed a cart, put Iris in the front of it, and soon found the aisle he was looking for. 

This store designated one entire aisle to feminine products; Lucifer was utterly overwhelmed. To his left and to his right, just completely feminine products. How can there be so many options and brands? This sort of thing never happened to his sisters, and he's certainly never been included in the purchase of these items, so for this first time since Iris was born, Lucifer Morningstar had absolutely no idea what to do. 

Luckily, an employee came by with a cart full of products to restock the shelves. Lucifer wheeled his cart over to her and asked, "Excuse me?"

The woman looked up at him and, like they always do, melted when Lucifer hit them with his charming grin and debonair attitude. Even being so bloody domesticated, he's still got it. Surprisingly, this employee's smile grew and her eyes shown with even more light when she got a look at Iris. Like father like daughter, Lucifer supposed. 

"Can I help you, sir?" The woman asked with a casual twirl of her hair around the end of one finger. 

"I certainly hope so," He replied, glancing at the expansive wall of period products behind him. "My girlfriend told me to find one of these...products, specifically for tweens? Her daughter just started her...you know, uh, this evening."

The employee chuckled and said, "Sure, I can help you. What you're looking for is right over here."

She began walking toward the front of the aisle and turned to her right. She gestured to a section of small, black, cardboard boxes. 

"This is the Tween brand. Do you know specifically what she wants?" She asked. 

Lucifer hesitated and then replied, "Er, her mother just said pads, tampons, and a lining of some kind?"

The employee giggled and said, "Okay, I got you. We'll start her off with some basics and then she can figure out what she likes and prefers as she gets older."

Lucifer was mystified by the amount of choice women have in care products. It baffled him. How did they not find it overwhelming? There are basics? What are the more advanced products like? He decided that he actually might not want to know.

"Here are some pads...and some tampons from the brand." The woman handed Lucifer two small boxes and then headed a few feet down the aisle. She picked up a small pink package and handed that to him as well. 

He placed the products in the cart, away from Iris who wanted to play with them. 

"Thank you very much for your help." Lucifer told the woman. 

She smiled deeply and replied, "Of course, I'm happy to, especially for dads like you, who aren't afraid of this kind of stuff."

He felt his chest swell with pride; for as lost as he felt the last few days being the only adult to take charge over two children, it was amazing to hear a complete stranger tell him he was doing a good job. 

"I suppose I should go get her some comfort food and then get back. Thank you again," Lucifer said as he turned around, but then the employee stopped him. 

"Do you know what constitutes as period comfort food?" She giggled. 

Lucifer hesitated, a bit taken aback by the odd question. "Ah, she likes chocolate cake?"

***

About an hour later, Lucifer had returned home and put Iris into bed. He gathered his purchases from Target and arranged them in the living room and turned the TV on. 

He took the bag full of the products for Trixie and quietly walked up the stairs. Once he reached her room, he tapped on the door and peeked his head in. 

The urchin was still on her bed, but now she was laying on her stomach with her eyes squeezed shut. 

"Urchin?" Lucifer whispered loudly into the room, "Are you awake?"

Trixie picked her head up and said, "Yeah,"

Lucifer smiled and said, "Why don't you come downstairs with me? I think I have something that will help you feel better."

With a huff, Trixie pushed herself out of bed. 

"Oh, and I got you these." He said, handing her the bag. Trixie peered inside, then looked up and smiled at him with her warm brown eyes and grateful smile. 

"Thanks." She said. 

Doing as she was told, Trixie followed Lucifer downstairs into the living room. As she walked in, she saw the couch piled with pillows, blankets, and a heating pad. The coffee table in front of the couch was covered in junk food snacks, bottled water, and a bottle of pain killers. The TV was turned on but playing nothing in particular. 

"What's all this?" She asked. 

Lucifer flushed a little bit, but explained, "Well, the baby is asleep, and I know you've had a pretty rough day, so I thought, if you're not too tired, maybe you'd wanna just...hang out?"

A beaming smile creeped it's way up Trixie's face for the first time all night.

Lucifer quickly amended his previous invitation saying, "Or if you just want to be alone, that's fine too. I'll go upstairs- OOF!"

Trixie sprinted forward and latched herself onto him in a hug that made Lucifer stumble back a little. He hesitantly patted her on the head and back until she looked up at him. 

"You're awesome. You know that?" 

Lucifer smirked and replied, "It's been said once or twice."

Trixie let him go and came around to plop herself down on the couch. 

"And a big softy!" She giggled. 

Lucifer glared at her and warned, "I can take all of this stuff back-"

"No no!" Trixie kept giggling, "It's alright. I'll shut up."

Lucifer plugged in the heating pad he found and had Trixie place it under her back while she covered herself up with one of the blankets. Coming around to the other side of the couch, Lucifer picked up Trixie's feet, sat down, and then let her feet rest on his lap. 

"What're we watching, urchin?" He asked. 

Trixie hummed and replied, "I'm thinking Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That's a funny one, and I could definitely use a laugh. But also...Legally Blonde is good...and anything Disney."

Lucifer groaned, "Ugh, no more Disney."

Trixie scoffed, "Yeah right. Keep telling yourself that, especially when you've got a little girl running around. Disney's going to become her entire life in the next few years."

"Well then I'm sure I'll get my fix in the next few years then. Why don't we start with Monty Python?" Lucifer sassed. 

Trixie didn't see a problem with that. She found the movie on Netflix and let the beginning credits play. 

"Is that ice cream I see over there?" She eyed the table of snacks hungrily. 

Lucifer grinned and asked, "Are you feeling triple fudge brownie or mint chocolate chip?"

Trixie cocked and eyebrow at him and asked, "Is that seriously a question?"

Lucifer leaned forward and handed her the pint of triple fudge and saved the mint chocolate chip for himself.

"I'm just checking!" He defended himself. "Also, help yourself to anything. You didn't eat your supper tonight and you need nutrients."

Trixie scrunched her eyebrows slightly. "I don't think Mom would consider this a nutritious dinner."

"Well your mother's not here," Lucifer argued, "and your body is angry at you, so that gives me full license, as the adult in charge, to spoil you."

Trixie laughed and replied, "I like that logic. Although, I guess this can also be you making up for the fact that what's happening to me is partially your fault."

Lucifer aggressively dug his spoon back into the ice cream and fixed her with a disapproving and offended glare. 

"Pray tell, how is this my fault?"

Trixie snorted as she dug around in her ice cream, her eyes glued to the screen. 

"It says in the Bible that part of the punishment Eve received for disobeying was pain in child birth. Periods are a part of child birth. Therefore, you and Eve did this to me."

Though he was still miffed, Lucifer's eyes widened. Trixie now looked at him and smirked as she put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. 

Lucifer's mouth tightened into a thin line and shot back, "I _can and will_ take all of this stuff back, you deceptive little parasite. And when did you start reading the Bible?"

Trixie smiled wider, clearly not afraid of his threats, and said, "Hey, I figured if my best friend is a demon and my step-dad is the devil, I should probably figure out what the story everybody knows is...even though you say a lot of your parts aren't true. Oh and don't worry. I plan on getting back at Eve too."

Lucifer stiffened when she referred to him as her step-dad. Even though he wasn't married to her mother, he supposed it'd be the correct term to describe their relationship. He is her sister's father and her mother's partner. Strangely, for as odd as being called a step-dad felt, part of him liked it. He wouldn't dare tell anyone that though. 

They turned their attention back to the movie, and in between busting out laughing at the silliness of the film, Lucifer took it upon himself to explain what really happened in Genesis...minus the more explicit parts. Something about divulging that much of the story to the offspring - actually, she is his step-daughter - just didn't feel right. 

They watched a few more movies and snacked until Trixie fell asleep and Lucifer carried her up to her bed.

**Day 4**

The next morning, Lucifer got Trixie off to school just fine. It seemed a little TLC after the traumatic event of the previous evening was just what the doctor ordered.

After that, Lucifer was still at a lost for ways to keep himself and the baby entertained. He caught up around the house, making sure it was spick-and-span, and even played with Iris a bit. That seemed more fun for her than it did for him, but Lucifer enjoyed seeing her happy. 

Around eleven o'clock, Lucifer realized that it was a pretty nice day outside. Fall weather was beginning to set in (which for Southern California just mean that it wasn't one hundred degrees). 

"Little Bullet, what do you say to playing outside today?" Lucifer asked. Iris lifted her head up and beamed with the very few teeth that had popped through in her mouth. 

"I'll take that as a yes," He said with a grin as he led her toward the front door to get her shoes on. The detective had mentioned last week bringing Iris to a park or a playground if they weren't too busy or if it wasn't too hot outside. Since it wasn't as hot as it's been, at least by human standards, Lucifer figured going to the park was at least something to do, even if it was filled with screaming, snotty, chaotic human offspring. 

They made it to a playground, not far from their house, a few minutes later. Just as Lucifer suspected, the playground was crawling with all sorts of very small humans. Many mothers, fathers, and caregivers were scattered around the outside of the playground's perimeter, some keeping a watchful eye on their young and some seeming like they could care less. 

Lucifer noticed that many of the playground's attendees seemed to be a bit older than Iris, so he wasn't very comfortable letting her run off by herself, especially if many of these parents weren't paying attention. 

Lucifer took Iris out of the stroller and followed her at a distance as she toddled around, babbling, laughing, and pointing at the park and all the other children. 

"Well go on," Lucifer directed her, "go play."

She decided to toddle over to the swing set. 

"You want to go on the swings?" Lucifer asked and Iris pointed at the swings and smiled, her dark brown eyes twinkling. 

"Alright," Lucifer said, leaving the stroller in the grassy area and lifting Iris into one of the smaller, more rounded swings. It seemed like the bowl-shaped ones were for the younger offspring and the older ones could use the normal swing.

He settled her in the swing and began pushing her gently. 

"Iris, can you tell me what this is?" Lucifer mimicked the detective when she tries to get Iris to talk and learn words. He refused to use the cooing-voice though; Lucifer only used his normal voice, regardless of Iris's age. Of course, _he_ knows what this contraption is, but he doesn't think his daughter knows what it is.

Iris made an incomprehensible sound. Lucifer corrected her, "This is a _swing_."

Iris paused and then said softly, "Seen."

Lucifer shrugged and replied, "Eh, close enough. _Swing_."

"Seen!" Iris exclaimed happily.

He smiled at how adorable she is. Her complete innocence made his heart warm. For as much as Lucifer longs for the days where she can accompany him on trips to the bars, and he can talk to his daughter as an adult, but he knows that these are likely the best days. She has not known any traumatic pain or betrayal; she is happy in her own, small, oblivious world. 

Iris laughed as he pushed her slightly higher. Lucifer saw the breeze pushing her curls back and the way her eyes closed on the way down. It reminded him of when he was younger and how his first few times flying felt...how it still felt, at times, if he allowed himself to shut his brain off long enough.

He pushed her for a while longer until Iris began squirming to get down. 

"Alright, alright," Lucifer said exasperatedly, coming around the front to lift her out of the swing. 

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Iris took off at a run (well, actually it looked more like a waddle) toward the rest of the playground.

Lucifer helped her climb up the stairs and kept an eye on her while she ran around the tower. He flinched and expertly avoided other spawn the best he could as they ran past. Every once in a while, Iris would peek through the blue bars and smile at Lucifer. 

"What?" He would ask and smile back. As soon as he said anything, Iris would giggle and run away. 

"Are you playing hard to get?" He teased. 

She toddled through the tower some more until she came to a large slide. 

"Do you want to go down the slide?" Lucifer asked. 

Iris looked at it and her bright smile fell and she whimpered. 

"It's alright. I can hold your hand, if you want." Lucifer explained, coming up to the side of the slide. In all honesty, this slide wasn't that tall, but he supposed that if you're only around two feet tall and the slide is about six feet tall, it could perhaps be frightening. 

"Here," Lucifer sat Iris down but she protested. 

"It's alright, Bullet. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. These are supposed to be fun, come on."

Gently, Lucifer held on to Iris's middle with both of his hands as he walked backwards, leading her down the slide. Iris didn't react on the somewhat slow ride down until she reached the bottom. She paused for a moment and then gave Lucifer a small smile. He scooped her up quickly, making her giggle.

"See? That wasn't so bad." He explained. 

Suddenly, Lucifer was pushed off balance. He made a gasping sort of noise as he stumbled forward, gripping Iris tighter so that she wouldn't be hurt if he fell. Soon enough, he was able to stumble into a recuperated stance and turned around to see what exactly caused him to trip and his thigh to be throbbing. 

"Oh my gosh," A small human girl, no older than five, looked up at Lucifer with large, guilty eyes, "I'm sorry mister."

She turned around to even more five year olds who had piled up behind her on the slide, "Guys! Look what you made me do!"

A few adults came over a few seconds later, chastising the children, making them get off the slide, and apologizing to Lucifer for them. Lucifer hardly heard any of it. He was more concerned by the fact that his leg was throbbing. Pain. He was in pain, but...that only happens when the detective is near. 

"Sorry darling," He told Iris, "we're going to have to cut this trip short."

He escorted her back to the stroller, limping a bit, completley baffled by what was going on. As he buckled Iris in the stroller, Lucifer stood there for a moment, glancing around the park for any sign of the detective. Had she come home early and was about to surprise them? When he didn't see her anywhere, he logged on to the Find My Friends app on his phone to check her location. 

Unfortunately, the app still had her in Sacramento. What is going on?

Lucifer drove all the way back home, his hands gripping the steering wheel with a dangerous tension. 

Once they got inside, Lucifer let Iris play, and then went to the bathroom to check his leg. Sure enough, a dark purple bruise was forming, and didn't seem to be wanting to heal at any point soon. He'd check on it again in a few fours, but Lucifer thought for certain there was something at the park making him vulnerable, and that he'd be safe at home. 

For the rest of the day, he ran through some test similar to the ones he ran when he couldn't figure out why he was bleeding and mortal all of a sudden a few years ago. He discovered, because of those tests, that being around Chloe made him vulnerable. He knew it was preposterous, but the detective was not near now, so he no idea what could be causing this. 

Every test he ran this afternoon, he bled or felt pain. 

Lucifer picked the urchin up from school when the time came, and drove home quietly while the older spawn rambled about her day. Lucifer continued wracking his brain. What on Earth could possibly be the common factor with this recent bout of mortality, if not the detective? While he was eating with the girls, it dawned on him. 

"Urchin, could you watch your sister for a few minutes? I need to run and test something."

Trixie looked at him skeptically, but she still said, "Sure."

"Okay, I'll be back soon." Without another word or a look back, Lucifer left the house and jogged a little over a mile away. 

Once he was good and far enough away, he removed a steak knife he had pulled from the kitchen, closed his eyes, and slid the blade over the palm of his hand.

Lucifer didn't feel anything, so he opened his eyes to check.

There was no blood, not even a cut on his hand. He investigated the other testing sites on his body from earlier and found that each of them had begun healing, if they hadn't completely healed already. 

Lucifer's eyes widened and his mouth gaped as he stared back in the direction of his home, where his daughter and her sister were inside, apparently causing him much more difficulty than he could have ever imagined. 

"Iris," Lucifer breathed.

**Day 5**

Lucifer, though doing his best to stay patient, waited anxiously outside Dr. Linda's office that Thursday morning. He had scheduled his appointment this week earlier than normal so that he could come for his session not long after dropping off Trixie at school.

As soon as he heard the clicking of the door handle, Lucifer shot up from his chair. 

"Ah! Doctor!' Lucifer greeted chipperly.

Linda flinched slightly, not expecting him to be so eagerly ready, before recomposing herself and calmly greeting, "Good morning Lucifer. Are you ready?"

"Absolutely. Loads to discuss." He stammered, hurrying himself and Iris's stroller through the doorway.

Linda's eyebrows raised momentarily as she saw the fully alert baby being pushed into her office along with her most erratic client.

Linda followed Lucifer in the room, shutting the door behind her, and flipping on the red in-session light. Lucifer sat down on the couch, but it seemed like he was barely on it, like the slightest noise would set him off. He ran his hands over his thighs nervously and watched as Linda entered the room, his eyes frantic. 

Iris sat in her stroller that was parked next to the couch. She held a small plastic bowl and snacked away on some cheerios. 

"So," Linda said cheerfully as she came around the other side of the coffee table and took a seat on her chair, "what's on your mind?"

Lucifer froze and, for a moment, Linda thought he was going to stay like that for the remainder of the session. Like her training prepared her for, Linda waited patiently for him to respond. 

"Iris makes me vulnerable." Lucifer said so quietly, Linda would have missed it if she hadn't been looking directly at Lucifer and saw his lips move. 

"She...what?" Linda clarified. 

Lucifer had been looking at the baby for the past several moments, but now his dark eyes snapped to Linda. "I lose my immortality around Iris in the same way I do around the detective." He clarified. 

Linda shook her head slightly and replied, "I know what you mean. What I don't know is... _how_? How did you find that out?"

Lucifer sighed and told her about yesterday, how he was on the receiving end of a Kindergarten slide-train, and then later at the house when he ran tests and what the results were. He added that the detective has indeed been in Sacramento this entire time.

"I even remember a moment, months ago, when I had a drink at Lux and my staff was meeting Iris for the first time. I got up from my seat and tripped. Back then, I just passed it off as me standing up wrong, but now I wonder if Iris made me mortal. If that's true, then has she always been able to do this, or is this a new ability she's acquired?"

Linda nodded slowly, her forehead creasing as she took in this shocking information. 

At that same moment, Iris threw her bowl of cheerios on the ground and began making unhappy noises, calling out "Dada" a few times. 

Without a second thought, Lucifer left the couch, unbuckled Iris from her stroller, and let her toddle around the office while he and Linda talked. 

He sat back down on the couch, still fidgety, and asked, "I don't know what to do, Doctor! How am I supposed to protect her if I'm just as mortal as any human?"

Linda leaned her head from one side to the other, wishing that the two cups of coffee that she drank this morning would hurry up and kick in. She mulled over all the evidence presented to her, wondering how everything fits together. She's had some hypotheses about how and why Chloe makes Lucifer vulnerable over the years, but her job isn't to solve the case, like Chloe's is. Linda's job is to encourage her clients to solve their own cases. 

"Do you suppose it's a gene? Like, the detective's family has some sort of...ancient devil-hindering genetic-makeup? Or could it be that I've been proverbially castrated by all of these women? All of this stay-at-home parenting has turned me into some pathetic, bullock-less sap?" Lucifer dramatically reached. 

Linda pinched her lips and hummed. 

"The gene theory is interesting, but does Trixie make you vulnerable?" She asked, completely ignoring the castration comment. 

Lucifer opened his mouth to speak and then stopped. A moment later he answered, "No. I don't believe she does. A few years ago, I had to protect her by using my body as a shield. The bullets didn't harm me."

Linda nodded slightly and answered, "Then it can't be a gene. Trixie is just as much Chloe's child as Iris is. If it was a gene that is the culprit behind this, Trixie _and_ Iris would make you vulnerable, not just Iris...I think."

They sat in thought for a moment and then Linda inquired more than stated, "I wonder if we're overthinking this."

Lucifer looked up at her, his eyes pleading for answers. 

Linda leaned forward and proposed, "I'm thinking about what we've learned already. We know that your body takes on a physical manifestation of your subconscious. For example, with your devil face versus your wings."

Lucifer took it from there, stating, "My devil face, or form, represented my self-hatred, but my wings were me feeling better about myself."

"Exactly," Linda praised. Then she continued, "I've been wondering for a while, what if Chloe making you vulnerable wasn't as much something different about her, and more of something different about you?"

Lucifer blinked and then asked, "How do you mean?"

Linda sat up straighter and explained, "You've told me since our first sessions is that she makes you think and feel differently than you ever have before."

"Correct," Lucifer drawled, still not understanding her.

"You've also told me that you would do anything for Chloe, want her own happiness before your own, to make a long story short, you've fallen in love with her."

Now becoming more impatient, Lucifer pressed, "Yes, yes of course I do! I still don't see the point."

Ignoring his interruption, Linda continued, "I think, in doing your own investigation of her, back when the only intriguing thing about Chloe to you was that she didn't succumb to your charms, you let her in past your barriers more than you've let any other being in your life. It was something so...foreign and terrifying to you. Chloe made you feel more emotionally vulnerable than you ever have, so that manifested as physical vulnerability."

Lucifer nodded slowly to the doctor's words. His fingers were laced together and his hands were in his lap as he sat forward. Slowly, his face creased with confusion.

"So, you're saying that, in reality, the detective does _not_ make me vulnerable. I make myself vulnerable around her?" He asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Linda said lowly, allowing the reality and weight of that revelation to sink in. 

His face creased even more, but instead of asking more questions about it, he stated, "That...actually makes quite a lot of sense."

Linda exhaled with relief and smiled. 

"But what about Iris then?" Lucifer asked, "I'm not opening up to her emotionally in the same way I do to her mother, so how on Earth does she-" Lucifer stopped to correct himself, "Why do _I_ allow myself to be vulnerable around my eleven-month old spawn?"

Linda thought about that for a moment. He does have a point; he doesn't open himself up to Iris in the same way he does Chloe. Although, love comes in many different forms, and even if he is in love with Chloe, but he loves Iris unconditionally as his child, he is still in love with both of them in one form or another, more so than he's even been. This line of thought made Linda think of an article she read when she was pregnant with Charlie about the science behind parenting.

"I read this article a few years ago," She began and Lucifer sat back on the couch, "about what happens to the brain when people become parents. They talked, at first, about how when women become mothers, or give birth to a child, the mother and child share a very powerful 'animal bond' that goes back to our primal instincts, like the instinct to comfort mothers have when a baby cries. The amygdala, which is the emotion center of the brain, constantly develops new pathways and connections as humans go through life. When a woman gets pregnant, the amygdala begins to develop new pathways that are designed specifically to bind mothers with their children, especially after the birth happens."

Lucifer gave a minuscule nod but asked, "That's interesting, but what does that have to do with me? I'm not human and I'm not a female."

Linda continued, "Well, this made scientists curious, and it raised questions about the idea of a 'default caregiver'. This article asked, if a mother is most biologically in tune to her baby's needs, then what does that mean for the father?"

Lucifer leaned forward a little more and said, "Go on,"

Complying, she said, "A study was done a while ago where these researchers studied the brains of parents while they cared for their babies, and the results were shocking. Those special pathways in the amygdala I told you about earlier? Well, they were present in every primary caregiver they researched, not just the biological mothers. These scientists tested moms and dads, straight or gay, biological or adoptive, the list goes on! All of this means that biological relatedness or physically giving birth to a child doesn't make you a loving parent or a better parent...choice is."

Linda hadn't seen Lucifer this shocked and slightly terrified since he barged in here nearly two years ago to tell her that Chloe was pregnant with his baby. Linda patiently awaited his reply. To her surprise, Lucifer silently got off the couch and walked over to the spot on the floor where Iris was playing with the bowl of cheerios she dropped. He picked her up and brought her back to the couch with him. She continued to play with the bowl and babble as she sat in Lucifer's lap. 

"So, you're saying that Iris isn't doing anything special. It has nothing to do with any divine DNA she may or may not have. My vulnerability toward her is happening because I _chose_ to be a loving, devoted parent to her? None of this was out of my control?"

His voice sounded hurt, and Linda suspected that he had been blaming his father for any bad thing that has happened since Chloe got pregnant until now with this new vulnerability factor. He's forcing himself to come to terms with the very likely chance that everything is his fault and his dad hasn't had a hand in any of it. Linda's heart broke remembering the last time he figured out that every thing that happened to Lucifer was his fault, and it was why he hated himself. 

"That's right," She said softly, doing her very best to be sensitive to any emotion he may be feeling. 

Lucifer looked directly at Iris, but Linda could see the moistening of tears in his eyes, though he refused to let any fall. 

"Doctor...I don't want it to stop." He said through clenched teeth, "I don't want to stop loving her."

Linda took a deep breath to control her own emotions. "Why would you think that you need to stop loving Iris?" She asked. 

"Because it makes me weak!" He cried. "How am I supposed to keep my family safe and perform my role as the father if I'm too bloody mortal to protect them? Now it's not just with the detective at work and risking my own life there, it's her, Trixie, _and_ Iris at home! What if my siblings come back for her, or there's another demon rebellion, or-"

"Lucifer," Linda stopped him. It was good that he was expressing every worry that was on his mind, but Linda wanted to take this spiral and turn it into something good. "Why do you think loving others is a weakness?" She asked.

Lucifer flailed around the question for a moment, his shoulders tensing. Iris abandoned the bowl to play with her dad's face.

Without looking Linda in the eye, Lucifer harshly replied, "Because love makes people extremely reckless and stupid. Love is something for enemies to exploit, to take away from you, and use to pull on your strings like puppets."

Linda paused and then asked in her cool, even, therapy tone, "Do you still believe that?"

Lucifer didn't say anything at first. She saw him put some effort into swallowing, like he was clearing a lump in his throat, before he replied, "I think so, but...I don't think it's as bad as I used to."

Linda smiled, taking the small victory as it is. 

"Baby steps," She continued smiling, "and no pun intended."

That got her and Lucifer to laugh a little bit. Iris looked around, wanting to know why the two adults were laughing. Then she began laughing herself, even though she had no idea what was so funny. This turned Lucifer's and Linda's laughs into heartier, more genuine ones. 

"It's a step in the right direction. We can keep working on this for as long it takes, and as long as you want to. Oh, and Iris is always welcome to come."

Lucifer gave her a small smile and a nod, as Iris continued to play with anything and everything she could get her hands on. 

They left Linda's office that day with Lucifer feeling much less stressed. They went home to play extremely safe games before picking Trixie up at three.

**Day 6**

Friday commenced similarly to the rest of the days. The morning routine was the same, and Lucifer never seemed to have a minute to himself. Trixie had a math test today that she had been studying hard for all week. 

"Good luck on your exam today, urchin." He said as they pulled into the drop-off line. 

"Thanks," She replied, "I think I'm ready but, you know, math is...math." She grimaced. 

Lucifer chuckled and asked, "Did you review?"

"Yes," Trixie answered.

"What's one plus one?"

"Two," She giggled.

"See?" Lucifer cheerfully replied, "You're ready. One plus one will get you very far in life. Take this test and go kick it in the bullocks!"

Trixie chortled as she got out of the car. Before she shut the door, she added, "And if it gets too hard, stab it, right?"

Lucifer grinned, hooked his finger under her chin for a second, and said, "That's my girl!"

"See you at three!"

"Bye!"

From there, Lucifer brought Iris back home. Amenadiel stopped by with Charlie for lunch and to check in on how Lucifer had been doing this week. The kids played together while the brothers supervised, and Lucifer told Amenadiel about his latest therapeutic development. Amenadiel seemed just as shocked as Lucifer had been yesterday, but he soon decided that it did all make sense.

At three, Lucifer picked Trixie up, and when she announced that her test had been de-balled, Lucifer let her pick where she wanted to go for dinner. 

By six, the three of them were munching on bread sticks at an Italian restaurant and awaiting their food. 

The rest of the night was Trixie's since she thought her math test went so well. One of her friends invited her to a sleepover, so Lucifer dropped the urchin and her things off there for the night after dinner. 

Lucifer and Iris spent the time after they got home getting her cleaned up. They watched one of Iris's baby shows until about eight and then it was time for the bedtime routine.

Once the house was quiet, and Lucifer had all this time to himself, he decided to reward himself with a job well-done this week, as this would be the last night he would be the only adult in the home. So, he poured himself a glass of one of his favorite whiskeys, sat down on the couch in the living room, where he and the urchin had movie-night just a few days ago, and he finally logged onto _his_ Netflix profile and watched what _he_ wanted to watch without worrying about anything needing to be censored for the children (or their mother's sanity). 

Tired of teen-films and educational baby shows, Lucifer went to his List and found all the mature or violent movies he added a while ago, and enjoyed his Friday night of peace, quiet, and gore. 

**Day 7**

"Alright spawn!" Lucifer called into the house after he picked Trixie up from her sleepover. "Your mother will be home this afternoon, so let's clean up this...disaster zone, so that I don't get yelled at."

Trixie rolled her eyes, yawned, and replied, "The house looks fine, Lucifer. Mom's not gonna yell at you."

Lucifer glared momentarily at her as he set Iris in her play room. "Have you ever been given the 'look of disappointment' from your mother?" He asked. 

Trixie paused and then weakly said, "Yeah."

Lucifer nodded once and then continued, "Then you know why I'd like to avoid it. Go upstairs and unpack your stuff. You can clean the upstairs while I start on the downstairs. Deal?"

Trixie sighed dramatically and huffed, "Fine."

Then she stomped up the stairs to start tidying up. 

Lucifer turned on some music and began cleaning and tidying the main floor of the house, while Iris played off in her own little world. Once Lucifer came to the play room area, he began to show Iris how to pick up her toys and instructed her on where everything goes. After a small bout of stubbornness, Iris eventually began to figure out that the toys need to be put away.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Dan's car pulled up in the driveway. 

"Mom and Dad are home!" Trixie yelled from her bedroom. She sprinted down the stairs, through the hallway, out the front door, and stood patiently in the driveway as the car slowed, bouncing with excitement as she did so.

"Okay, okay, slow down." Lucifer muttered as he scooped up Iris from the floor. On the inside, though, Lucifer felt like bursting with excitement as well. He had successfully made it through seven days of being in charge of two spawn all by himself, and now he was thrilled to see the detective. He missed her very much. 

"Hey monkey!" Chloe exclaimed as Trixie ran over to her and they enveloped each other in a big hug. There were other pleasantries exchanged, and then the urchin went to go hug Dan. 

Chloe took her moment of freedom to make her way over to where Lucifer was standing with Iris, near the top of the driveway. 

Chloe took Iris in her own arms first, seeing as a never-ending spew of "Momma" was coming from the child's mouth as she reached out for the detective. 

"Hi baby!" Chloe said. "I missed you so much. Were you good for Daddy?"

Chloe looked up at Lucifer while Iris babbled away and played with Chloe's hair. He nodded with a proud smile. She set Iris down, letting her walk around on the driveway, while Chloe went in toward Lucifer. They smiled at each other and then Chloe quickly kissed his lips before hugging him. 

While her face was turned away from the rest of the family, she muttered, "More tonight."

Lucifer smirked deviously and replied, "Can't bloody wait."

All five of them went inside to unpack and unwind from a long week of conferencing and a long day of traveling. 

"Well, both kids seem to be in one piece, and the house isn't on fire...I think you did a pretty good job, man." Dan observed, looking around the freshly cleaned house. 

Lucifer turned to face him, his expression perplexed. He asked, "Are you always such a douche, or do you just show off when I'm around?"

Dan glared at him. 

Chloe sighed as she was being led, by Iris, into the play room. "Guys, come on. We just got home."

Dan shook his head, likely shaking off the negative feelings. Then he said, "I'll just get out of your hair. I'm beat."

Trixie came up to him to give him one last hug goodbye, and then Dan said, "I'll see you on Wednesday, monkey. I want to hear all about how your week with Lucifer went when we hang out."

Trixie beamed, "Oh my gosh, it was so much fun!" She turned her head to look over her shoulder at Lucifer and said, "He didn't do such a bad job."

Lucifer preened. 

A few hours later, Chloe had done Iris's bed time routine mostly by herself after missing it all week. Then she went into Trixie's room to chat with her before she went to sleep, mostly about how she's been feeling since getting her first period and what that means now. 

Lucifer was relaxing on their bed when she came into the room. He had been passing the time by playing a game on his phone. Chloe let out a long breath and hung her head as she shuffled into the room. 

"What's wrong, darling?" Lucifer asked. 

Without even changing into comfier clothes, Chloe flopped down on the bed and mumbled, "I'm so tired."

Lucifer chuckled and turned over to rub her back, and she relaxed under his touch. Then she turned her head, smiling fondly at him, and asked, "So tell me about this week. How did it go, really?"

Lucifer gave her his rendition of this week, what he thought of mini-golfing, school drop-off lines, period shopping, single parenthood, all of it, until he came to his most recent revelation. 

"There is something I discovered this week that I think we need to have a discussion about." He said gravely. 

Chloe's content face fell into a serious frown and she sat up. 

"What is it?" She asked. 

Lucifer took a deep breath and played with the end of the blanket as he explained, "To make a long story short, Iris makes me vulnerable."

Chloe's eyes widened and she more demanded than asked, "What?"

"There was an incident at the park on Wednesday," Lucifer started slowly, "and I received a bruise. I went through all the tests, even tried them in different places at home and outside. The only conclusion that I could come up with, since you were still definitely in Sacramento, is that our daughter makes me vulnerable, just like you do."

Chloe blinked and shook her head, her expression becoming much more agitated. 

To calm her, Lucifer gently held her wrists and explained to her what he and Dr. Linda discussed at their session on Thursday. 

Chloe seemed to calm down a bit, but she was still extremely bothered by the fact that she and her eleven-month old daughter make Lucifer vulnerable.

"So, you're saying that you're _choosing_ to be vulnerable around us? That's what causing this physical manifestation?"

His jaw twitched a bit uneasily as he replied, "Yes. The notion was completely mind-boggling at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. You are my first love, and I've never opened myself up to anyone the way I do to you, Detective. According to Dr. Linda, that means I make myself vulnerable emotionally which becomes physical. With Little Bullet, I chose to be her parent, to be a good father to her, and in my subconscious, I see that as vulnerable love as well."

Chloe gave him a small smile and gently brushed her fingers against the side of his face. 

"Wow that's...that's _a lot_. I hope you know that I didn't need you to become vulnerable to know that you love Iris and me more than anything. Lucifer, you are such a good dad and an amazing partner. I was only worried this week because it was my first time leaving the girls for a long time. I didn't doubt for a moment that you could do it. I know you'd do anything for them and keep them safe. None of that makes you weak. If you need to see it this way, even subconsciously, then we'll do it together, as a team."

Lucifer paused to think and then replied, "I don't think that...I think...it's just, I'm not used to this whole...family dynamic. It's not something I ever pictured myself doing since I fell, but now that I am, well, I can't imagine a world in which I don't have you and Iris to come home to every day...even your sticky little urchin."

Chloe breathed a laugh through her nose. They sat there in comfortable silence for a moment. 

"I love you," Chloe said, leaning her head on his shoulder, "and I missed you so much this week."

Lucifer smiled and kissed her head. "And I you, Chloe. Even if you did make me a domesticated devil."

Chloe laughed and then stated, "Well, it's not like your hard work is going to go unrewarded."

She proceeded to slowly run her fingers down his shirt buttons, slowly undoing them. Lucifer chuckled low in his chest, then he reached over and turned out the bedside lamp. As Chloe climbed on top of Lucifer, the room was plunged into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was a long chapter to end on! I hope you all enjoyed! I know I have had a blast reading all your comments :). Don't worry! It's not the end of the road yet. More Iris stories are to come in this series!


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